You Would Defy Nature?
by Armchair Professor
Summary: "We are opposites, you and I." She wanted it, he wanted it, but his tears had been the ultimate betrayal to them both. "It is impossible for us to be together."
1. It's Adventure Time

**EDIT:** _Thanks to TheJamjam for pointing out a glaring error in this chapter. I really need to start finding a beta reader . . . or four . . ._

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><p>"We are opposites, you and I." She said with an aching sorrow in her voice. She was giving up; she had wanted it, he had wanted it, but his tears had been the ultimate betrayal to them both. "It is impossible for us to be together; we cannot help but hurt each other."<p>

"Can't we at least try?"

"You . . . would defy nature for me?" That instant, that one look, would forever be etched into his soul. Standing there, in the middle of the goblin city, all of creation burning down around them, he had suffered an epiphany. What he'd thought he'd felt for Princess Bubblegum, was nothing, a simple boy's crush. That small display blackened and crumbled to dust before the conflagration of passion that burned between them in that glimmer of hope in her starry eyes. He would have defied anything for her in that moment. The wild, untamable sea of her fiery hair had seemed as if it reached out to him; her silhouette, the most beautiful shades of copper and ruby, seemed to glow even brighter as he approached her, the all-consuming flames slowly dying. She let him take her in his arms, the supreme sign of her desire for him, a force of nature bowing to the greater tempest of his own raging desire. For an instant, as her head burrowed into the crook of his neck, seeking his acceptance, all of time hung suspended on that single moment of perfection.

Then, he began to burn. He struggled with it, stifled the animal noises of agony that begged him to tear away from the source of his pain, and what brought it to an end was not his instinct of survival, but her realization that she was hurting him. The rage had been conquered, the hurt burned away, all she could feel was her need for him . . . and she had hurt him. Her special one. They could never be together because she was a monster, and she hated herself for being what she was. "Goodbye, Finn."

And she was gone. He had seen her tears before, just before they finally came to understand the torturous dilemma of their existences, and now she would disappear forever from his life. Anything to never hurt him again. That one act of unbridled compassion was more cruel to the both of them than anything the Lich could ever have done to all of Ooo.

"Finn!" Jake's shout broke through the din, "Oh my Glob, it's horrible. Everyone's dead! They're all barbequed, bodies everywhere!"

"What?"

"Naw, I'm just kidding, everyone's fine." His brother gestured off the side of the carnage, to the safe villagers who cheered for his heroism. He had banished the burning monster that had threatened to destroy them all. They did not know who she was or what she was motivated by, all they could do was conjecture on her story and judge her based on their own narrow view of the world. He immediately felt guilty over the pang of rage he felt towards them for their feelings. "So, what happened?"

"She hugged me . . . and then she left me." As he watched her go, he quietly raged against whatever fool deity found merit in giving so young a boy such complex feelings. No thirteen year old boy should be able to perceive these feelings, let alone understand them so completely.

Jake's expression was one of awe. "How'd it feel, man?"

He could feel the heat of his burns slowly sink into his core, caressing his heart. Her warmth, her love, had become a part of him in some small way. "It hurt."

"No worries, buddy." Jake slapped his back. "We still have that bottle of magic Cyclops healing tears back at the house. We'll get you fixed up."

_Not yet_, he silently bemoaned, _Don't take the last part of her away from me yet. Please, just a little longer, just a little more time._ "Yeah, I know." He chuckled and turned away from her dwindling trail and started for home. She was returning to the Fire Kingdom. He would never see her again.

Jake chuckled, "Guess we could have used Flambo's '_Immunity to Fire'_ spell right about now."

Finn stopped so abruptly that Jake crashed into him. "What spell?"

"_Immunity to Fire_," Jake chuckled, "Flambo made me immune to fire when I courted the Flame Princess for you. Man, that fire kingdom is so intense, I'd have died the moment I set foot in there if he hadn't." Jake saw the determined gleam in Finn's eye, "Finn? Hey, what's up brother?"

"You just gave me an idea." Finn smiled boldly as he turned to face his adopted brother, "You know what time it is?"

"Adventure time?"

"No," Finn struck his fist against his open palm, "It's time to defy nature."

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><p>This is the beginning of a three part story, maybe even more (depending on if it goes well). Jake's simple comment has sparked a resolve in Finn, now our hero has undertaken a grand quest for the greatest treasure of his life. Will he succeed?<p>

Stay tuned . . .


	2. Quest for Fire Shield

The following morning, an excited Finn had dragged Jake out of the tree house without breakfast, a normally impossible feat made plausible only by the promise of explaining what he'd meant by his cryptic statement the night before. They had started on a journey out West, towards the string of volcanoes that served as border between The Flame Kingdom and the rest of Ooo, when Finn had finally given in to Jake cajoling and divulged his master plan.

"Wait, so let me get this straight. You want Flambo to teach you the anti-fire spell, so that you can get your canoodle on with Flame Princess?" Having increased his mass many times over, Jake was now the size of a pachyderm, his stilt-like legs allowing him to cruise well over the tallest trees of the forest as they strolled.

On Jake's back, Finn sat between his brother's shoulders, draping his legs down either side of the magic dog's massive neck. "Pretty math, right? If I could learn that spell, I'd be even more super awesome, right? No more fear of folks like that Hitman that Ice King hired to kill our butts. We'd be even more radical than ever!"

"Plus you'd get to get all smooch-smoochy with Flame Princess, right?" Jake couldn't keep the teasing tone out of his voice.

It had the desired effect; Finn's cheeks deepened to a red almost as deep as the slap-mark burn that Flame Princess had given him when they'd first met. "Yeah . . . I guess so. Or, ya know, whatevs."

A small Princess-shaped mass rose from the skin on Jake's neck. "Oh Finn," its lips moved in time with Jake's sing-song impersonation of Flame Princess, "Now that you're immune to fire, you should kiss me and stuff." A small Finn-shaped mound rose up next to the Princess-shaped mound, throwing 'his' tiny arms around 'her'. "Oh yes, my love," Jake was now making an equally poor rendition of Finn's voice, "I shall now kiss you and stuff, because I am impervious to all fires, except the flames of passion that you kindle in my soul." The dolls began to rub against one another, accompanied by the most ridiculous kissing sounds that Jake could muster.

Finn laughed and smote the dolls under his fists. The day was shaping up to be very promising, and his optimism was quickly blossoming into one of his odd little songs.

_I'm all about you, flame princess_

_And I think you're all about me_

_So I'm gonna track down a spell_

_Of flame invincibility~_

_And when my tears cannot betray me_

_And your flame's burning strong_

_I'll take you in~ my~ arms~_

_And let our flame burn all~ night~ long~_

The pair spent the better part of the day crossing the dense woods of Western Ooo, past the village of marauders and the effete mountain looking down on them, until the skies turned charcoal gray and the mountains a mix of black and a deep burnt orange. Here, on the furthest fringes of the Flame Kingdom, sat a cat-like being of flame small enough to fit in Finn's hands. His little coal-like eyes glittered mischievously as he observed the human boy and his adopted brother's approach.

"Hey Flambo," Finn shouted his greeting as he leapt off of Jake's back, landing on the small stony outcropping where the flambit sat, nibbling a chunk of coal. Jake quickly began to shrink in mass, his legs extending like boneless tentacles as he deftly landed beside his brother.

"Heh-heh, heya boys," the small creature chuckled nervously as he popped another piece of coal into his mouth. His flame and light intensity seemed to grow for an instant. "Don't think for a second that ol' Flambo here ain't happy to see you, but youze two is a sore topic in the court these days."

Jake and Finn exchanged glances, with Finn's brow creasing in concern. "What's going on?"

"Well, when Princess Vermilion came back-"

"Who's Princess Vermilion?"

Jake smacked Finn in the back of the head, "Flame Princess is, dummy."

"I get it, like how Marceline's the Vampire Queen," Finn's eyes got huge, "You mean that the Princesses have NAMES?"

"Some of them do, yeah." Jake and Flambo nodded in unison. "Princess isn't a name, it's a title. Except for Doctor Princess, because she's a doctor; oh, and Princess Princess Princess, because she's a princess, but her name is Princess Princess. Or something . . ." Jake's grasp on the situation had degenerated fairly quickly and he had confused himself. "She's . . . weird."

Flambo laughed, "Yeah, she is one freaky broad, princess or not." He popped another hunk of coal, chewing thoughtfully.

"So that means Princess Bubblegum's name isn't Princess _or_ Bubblegum?"

"It's Bonnibel. Bonnibel Bubblegum, Princess of the Candy Kingdom." Jake said plainly.

Finn looked hurt, "Preebos never told me her name was Bonnibel, not even when she was my age." It seemed to cement that he was nothing but a child in her eyes, regardless of his acts of heroism for her people; he'd already reconciled those feelings, but the barb hurt none the less for it.

"_ANYWAY_," Flambo interrupted by belching, sending a ball of flame skittering across the stony outcropping and plunging into the rivers of magma below them. "When she came back from setting those fires in the Grasslands and The Goblin Kingdom, she seemed all despondent and depressed. When the king axed her how the destruction of her enemies had gone, she didn't answer. She just locked herself back in dat lamp and wouldn't say nuttin to nobody."

Finn facepalmed, hiding his dismay, _By trying to make things right between us, I made them even more wrong. Worse than hating me, she hates herself._ Finn moaned inwardly, "My life is like a fart."

Jake squeezed Finn's shoulder, "Don't go there, man, remember Clarence. Eyes ahead."

Finn nodded, "Flambo, Jake said you used some sort of spell to make him immune to fire so that he could enter the Flame Kingdom."

Flambo nodded, "Yea, **Flame Shield**; any non-Fire Elemental who goes in there burns ta nuthin in seconds wit'out it."

"Could you teach me how to cast **Flame Shield**?" Finn couldn't keep the excitement out of his voice.

Flambo popped another lump of coal before shaking his head. "Nope, no freakin' way."

Finn and Jake gaped, dumbstruck. Jake recovered first, his mass growing as his fury bubbled up inside him. "What the nuts are you talking about? We save your life at least once a week, Flambo. You owe us!"

Unperturbed, Flambo popped another piece of coal. "Yup, youze guys do saves me alla time, and I does owez ya." He frowned at the empty sack of coal before balling it up and eating it, farting a curl of acrid smoke. "If I could teach ya the spell, I wouldz, no question; personally, I think you and da princess should totally hook up, you and her got that whole 'directionless, explosive fury' thing going for you. Problem is, you can't learn no spells cuz you ain't no wizard!"

"Bull donkus!" Finn shook his head, "We got, like, every wizard star there is! The BUFO made us master wizards so we could save Ooo from that meteorite. We got wizard stuff coming out of our butts!"

"Yeah!" Jake agreed firmly.

"Okay, tough guys," Flambo crossed his arms and scowled, "Cast magic missile."

"Easy peasy livin' greasy." Finn and Jake took up their wizard poses, "Magic Missile!" They cried in unison, thrusting their hands toward Flambo.

Nothing happened.

"Just like I said, no dice." Flambo spat a cinder on the ground.

The brothers were confused. "I-I-I don't understand." Finn's voice was tiny, broken.

"The BUFO are Cloak Wizards." Flambo drew a small picture in the dirt with a stick, which he promptly ate after finishing his crudely drawn wizard. The drawing was of a round figure in a pointy hat and robe, possibly the BUFO. "Cloak Wizards get spells in the form of stars on their robes; the stars are the spells they learn, and the cloak contains all the magic energy they cast spells with. Without the hat and robe, you got no powers, bub."

Finn grabbed fistfuls of his hat and turned away, "DARNIT!" He shouted in a high-pitched tone, his voice cracking. "I was so close to finding a way around it! Why can't I just like a girl and have it be okay?" He screamed and kicked the trunk of a withered old tree, his foot sending brittle fragments of its dead bark flying around him. A flock of black birds erupted from their nest in the bony branches, screeching as they fled.

Flambo looked quizzically between Finn and Jake. "Hey, Jake, what's wit Finn?"

"Flame Princess left because she couldn't not burn Finn," Jake said quietly to the flambit. "The Flame Shield spell was his chance to get around it."

Finn was struggling to suppress the unreleased tears that burned his eyes. He hated crying; it was bad enough that his father had given him so much grief for it as a child, and again from beyond the grave when they plunged into his dungeon, but now they just reminded him of how defeated she'd looked when she saw his tears; water and fire, forever unable to be together. "I'm sorry, Flame Princess," he sobbed quietly.

"Finn," the boy opened his eyes as Flambo addressed him, jabbing him in the face with something.

"What's this?" Finn took the rolled up paper from the flambit. The document looked ancient, rolled up and tied with a simple red cord. The paper was warm to the touch and, as he peered closely at it, tiny veins of red light seemed to skirt across its surface.

"It's a Flame Shield scroll." Flambo said plainly, "It's the only one I got, heck, only one I ever seen."

"You mean this-"

"Will make you impervious to flame, _TEMPORARILY_," he stressed the last word. "You pull that cord, da spell gets cast, and you get three, maybe four hours of 'no burn' time." He gestured to the scroll, "You take that to a wizard, a _REALLY_ good wizard, and maybe he gots somethin' betta for you."

"Algebraic," Finn stuffed the scroll in his bag, "Thanks Flambo, you're awesome. Come on, Jake." Jake's form grew and distorted again, once more resuming the spidery legs and larger torso combination that had availed them to quick passage on their way here. "We gotta find us a WIZARD!" The last word echoed across the expanse.

"Finn!" Flambo shouted after him, "Ya otta look into a **Water Shield** spell for the Princess, on account you like to cry so often. The flambit snickered and waved after them.

"I do not cry all the time!" Finn shouted back at Flambo, embarrassment turning his face dark red. After they were clear of the Flame Kingdom, Finn leaned down by his brother's ear. "So Jake, uhh, where do you suppose we can find a Water Shield spell? Ya know, just in case."

The dog chuckled, "We may not know any flame wizards, but we know at least one who specializes in water."

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><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong> Okay, so the response to this story has been MOMENTOUS! **424 hits and 10 reviews on the first chapter, and it hasn't even been up for a whole week**. Wow, I wish I could that kind of response on my other stories. Anyway, I charted out a formal outline and did some pre-writing, so this will be substantially longer than three parts, which I hope isn't a problem for anyone. So yeah, keep looking for more Finn & Jake, and please make sure you keep reviewing, I am taking reader input to heart, as my pre-writing and outline expansion came around after **Stoic Moose Zombie**'s comment. I'd thought about making it a big epic, but the work I'm putting into it is a response to my readers & reviewers. Thank you all so very much for your comments, criticism, and praise.

**Chabitso.0-** I'm glad you're interested. I will try to update atleast once a month, ideally every week or two.

**Wolfprincess16-** Thank you for reading. I hope the story keeps you as interested.

**x-rinkai-x**- Thanks, I try really hard to paint a detailed picture for the reader.

**beast keeper 9- **That's the idea ^_^

**sunshine loving devil- **That's heavy praise, I will try to live up to the expectations.

**Stoic Moose Zombie- **I didn't want to just _HAND_ Finn & Jake an easy answer, or to make it something as lame as "oh, whoa, suddenly she can control her powers". Trust me, they're going to work for this.

**Bigslayerguyman-** I hope it's a grand, epic adventure. Those are the best kind.

**DEEPDE-** Honestly, where do my ideas come from? I play a lot of DnD, and Finn & Jake is literally spun from the system. Pendleton Ward and his writers probably roleplay their seasons before they write them, which is a damn good idea.

**Motherbirdnerd- **Thanks, it was really important to me to try and make the dialogue believable. I literally watched all three seasons before writing any of it. I want this to feel like an episode.

**IceEagle9- **The first part was supposed to be short, sort of a tantalizing vignette. The real meat comes in the later chapters.

To everyone who reviews, thanks for reading.

To everyone who reads, review!


	3. Quest for Ice Shield Part I

Departing the Flame Kingdom with scroll in hand, Finn and Jake began the arduous trek to the Ice Kingdom. Simon Petrikov, known following his submission to the cursed crown as The Ice King, was the foremost authority on ice and water magic in all of Ooo. Although he had initially been a bane to Finn and Jake's existence, the secrets revealed to them by Petrikov's video diaries had instilled a sort of sad empathy; The Ice King, despite his maligned attempts to woo princesses through abduction and magic, was nothing more than a sad man whose mind had been twisted by powers beyond his ken, trapped forever in the attempt to reunite himself with his own lost princess, Bettie.

Love made Finn desperate enough to ask his frenemy (not that he considered them competing for anything) for aid; hopefully love would be sufficient enough cause to reach Simon, deep within the king's twisted psyche, and inspire him to help Finn's noble quest.

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><p>Lit by the sun above, the vast expanse of the Ice Kingdom spread before them like a sheet of silver and diamonds, the gleaming radiance strangely beautiful in such a bleak setting; scattered across the backdrop of the snowy plains were a set of spire-like mountains, thorns on a wintery crown, upon the highest of which sat the castle of the infamous Ice King.<p>

"Do you think he'll help us, Jake?" Finn asked his brother, quickly donning his yellow sweater. Being knitted for him a few years earlier, the faded garment was a little tighter in places than he was comfortable, but it would have to do. There had been another sweater in his bag, a pink one with a white stitch mark heart on its chest, but he would not wear it.

"Don't see why not." Jake made steady progress through the snow, his booties noisily compressing the white powder under his and his brother's combined weight. "Considering he thinks you're his bosom, I imagine you have a pretty fair shot at getting it."

"I am no man's bosom," Finn grumbled irritatedly.

Jake ignored him, "Besides, if he says no, then what? We pound him into working with us, or we comb his lair for spell books and various items, win-win. Buck up man, there's always a way." As they drew nearer to the keep, the lilting strains of synth pop music could be heard drifting out the windows. "Sounds like he's in, man, get ready."

Jake made to shift his mass and height, extending himself through the balcony archway, but Finn was already in motion; family sword in hand, the boy sprang from Jake's back and sailed through the window, curling himself into a ball to make his passage through the small triangular portal easy. His boots hit the icy floor lightly, drawing him into a combat stance as he slid across the frigid tiles, sword drawn back to strike. "Ice King," Finn shouted as he drew upon the frozen throne, "Come and face me!"

The entry was dramatic and flawless, and the look of fiery defiance in Finn's eyes was enough to make anyone second guess their ability to face him in combat. The five foot long, blood red sword clutched in his capable hand didn't hurt either. Of course, deeply embroiled in pounding away at the keys of his Casio keyboard, Gunther didn't even bother looking up. The small penguin was lost in whatever dream world belonged to the virtuoso water fowls, flippers carving out his masterpiece sonata in the cold stillness of the empty castle. Jake's eyes became impossibly large as he settled his gaze on the flippered musician. " Oh… my… GLOB THAT'S THE CUTEST THING EVAR!"

Finn sheathed his sword, "Come on Jake, let's look around. Maybe we can find a Water Shield scroll and be gone before he gets back." Jake was slam dancing, enraptured by Gunther's concerto, so Finn took it upon himself to scour the frozen lair. He sifted through the assortment of spell books; all offensive in nature, no support magic. He went through his desk, finding pictures of the princesses, but no scrolls. He even went through the Ice King's computer, finding nothing but more princess pictures and some Fiona & Cake fan fiction that Ice King had yet to publish. After skimming his third Ice King & Fiona lemon fic, he gave up, turning off the computer with a disgusted sound.

Stuffing a sandwich in his mouth, Jake wandered over to where Finn sat, looking dejected. "What's the good word, buddy? Any scrolls?"

"No," Finn said a little too harshly, "I can't find anything to get us any closer to our goal, and all you're doing is…" he blinked, "Where did you get that sandwich?"

"Gunther made it," Jake nodded towards the penguin and the plate of sandwiches sitting beside him. "They're sardine and peanut butter, you want one?"

Finn turned a little green, "No, no I'm good."

"Anyway, man, looks like Ice King ain't here." Jake stuffed the rest of the sandwich into his mouth and returned to his seat next to Gunther. "I say we camp out and wait for him to come back. Then we got the drop on him."

"I don't know what else to do." Finn sighed and flopped down against the wall, pulling the Enchiridion out of his bag. The ancient tome felt heavy in his hands, but warm and comforting, filled with the secrets of generations worth of heroes. Within the pages of this book, Finn hoped to someday pen his own adventures; but for now, he was content to learn the ways of his Chaotic Good alignment from the stories recorded within. Not knowing how long it might be until the wizard returned, Finn felt the best way to prevent himself from sliding deeper into depression was to read about the greatest hero of all time, Billy.

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><p><em>His body burned and aching, Billy dragged himself as far as he could, until his arms finally gave out on him. The Fire Count had surprised him with the vast torrent of his unholy flame magicks, overwhelming Billy's armor and wounding him badly. Now, he could only wait and see if the dog had made it back to the candy kingdom for aid, or Billy feared he would pass away where he lay.<em>

"_Worry not hero," a strange voice spoke to him in a sing-song tone, "Your death is not nigh, you still have many more foes to defy." The speaker's words devolved into warbled giggling._

"_Who goes there?" Billy squinted, unable to make out the face of the speaker, "If you are a feind looking for easy sport, you will regret your decision. I promise you that."_

"_Your threat of bloodshed I do not fear, for as you are I doubt you could shed a tear."_

_Billy found himself quickly growing irritated with the rambling pander of the speaker's dialogue. He struggled to raise his mighty gauntlet, "One final warning, speak your name!"_

"_Keep your warnings to yourself, they're bad for your health." The speaker drew forward, lifting something above Billy's head, "Noble Billy, before those bolts you loose, I suggest you partake of my juice."_

_The speaker sloshed a cold fluid over Billy's burned form, and almost instantly, the burns began to heal. Billy was dumbstruck as renewed strength and vigor flooded his body, allowing him to spring nimbly to his feet. "My wounds…"_

"_Have been healed, my purpose… revealed." The speaker, a foppishly dressed bird man, bowed deeply. "I am Choose Goose, a friend, to all virtuous men."_

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><p>"Shmowzow!" Finn jumped, "Jake, look at this!" He called to his brother, "Choose Goose is in a story about Billy!"<p>

"WHAT? No way," Jake ambled over, somewhat rotund after his eighth sandwich. "I know every story about Billy that was ever written. If Choose Goose was in any of them, I'da heard about it."

"Dude, seriously, check this out!"

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><p>"<em>Then I am in your debt, Choose Goose." Billy shook the strange fowl's outstretched wing, "You have saved my life this night."<em>

"_And I would not see you stayed," Choose Goose said, reaching into his pouch, "For Cotton Candy Princess needs your fist and blade." His long neck wiggling from side to side as if it had a mind of its own, the goose man withdrew a fist-sized red stone from his bag. "The stone, Infinisignis, has domain over flame. With it, I think the count shall quickly be tamed." He winked at Billy._

_Taking the stone, a pale blue aura enveloped Billy's skin, enshrouding him in a powerful __**Flame Shield**__ spell, "Thank you, Choose Goose, I shall return this when I have completed my task." Turning, Billy broke into a run, retracing his steps toward the Flame Kingdom._

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><p>Finn and Jake broke off from the story when the sound of great flapping wings filled the room. The Ice King emerged from the balcony, his beard cleft down the center, beating the air like massive wings. He did not notice his intruders immediately, as his eyes were fixed on his passenger; held within the crook of his arm, her hands and feet suspended in stockade blocks of ice, was Princess Bubblegum, still clad in her night shirt. "You see, Princess, this is the room for where you and I can spend the many, many years of marital bliss we will share together."<p>

"Ice King!" Finn drew the family sword and assumed combat stance. Next to him, Jake lowered his body and tensed, ready to evade incoming spells.

"Finn!" Bubblegum cried out in delightful surprise, "You've come to save me!"

"What? Finn and Jake?" Ice King was flabbergasted, "How is it that I can bust into the Candy Castle and steal the princess and it takes you hours to hear about it and come after me, but when I ninja in under the cover of nightfall and steal her away, you two jerks beat me home!"

"Let the princess go, Ice King," Finn stepped forward, "We need to talk."

"Like glob we do!" Ice King's hand began to glow, "I'll teach you the errors of standing between true love!" The Ice King released Bubblegum, who dropped to the floor as Finn closed the distance between himself and the wizard.

As Ice King let fly a shower of ice bolts, Finn howled in fury, his sword wreathed in flame as he slashed the projectiles apart in midair. He leapt, planting one foot squarely in Ice King's face, knocking his crown off and sending him crashing through the wall of the keep. The wizard howled as he plummeted, landing in a deep bank of snow with a muffled 'thwump'. After cleaving the princess' restraints open, Finn picked up the fallen crown and turned away from Jake and the Princess, "Take _Bonnibel _home, Jake, I'll handle the Ice King."

Bubblegum was immediately chilled by the gleam of rage that swam in his eyes as he glanced her way. "But Finn, aren't you coming?" He ignored her, leaping out the hole in the wall.

Jake loaded Bubblegum onto his back and left out the balcony archway. "Hey, don't take it personally, Princess, Finn's just really wrapped up in this Flame Princess thing."

Bubblegum's interest was perked, "Princess who?"

"Princess Vermilion of the Flame Kingdom." Jake said as they made quick tracks across the snowy plains, "Ever since she came out about liking him but not being able to be with him, he's been obsessed with finding a way."

"She's a fire elemental, isn't she?" Bubblegum's voice was a little tense, "Not a lot he can do about that, right?"

"Naw, Finn's already working on the plan." Jake said with a chuckle as they crossed into the Candy Kingdom, leaving the snowy tundra behind them, "He's got this scroll that will allow him to not be burned by fire, and with some other stuff he's gathering, it shouldn't be a problem much longer." Having reached her castle, he lifted her up onto the balcony outside her room, "You know how Finn is; once he decides he wants something, nothing stops him. Anyway, see ya later Princess."

Jake was already gone, quickly returning to the icy lands where his brother waited. Bubblegum didn't even hear the last of what he'd said. Finn was changing directions, moving on. For two years, Finn had been all that stood between Ooo and the various evils that plagued it, saving her, the other princesses, even the entire land without want of any reward. He'd even ended up developing a crush on the princess, a silly little child's notion of love. She'd smiled and bore it, treated him as a ruler is supposed to treat the hero of the land, but he never got anywhere with her. She was five years his senior for Glob's sake, anything otherwise would have been ridiculous. Scandalous, even.

Sure, she'd been concerned at one time or another. Marceline seemed quite taken with him, always leading him astray of his heroic duties in the pursuit of ridiculous, sometimes even dangerous, flights of fancy. But in the end, the knight had always returned to his princess' side; Glob knows that every princess from Bee to Wildberry thought that they were 'The One' for him, but he always came back to the Candy Kingdom. When she'd spent some time as a child again, she'd even allowed herself to indulge his fancy with her, cementing their relationship; princess and knight. The boy and his dog had always come back to her.

But that was over. If Finn decided that he liked someone who was emotionally available to him, where would that leave her? Would he still come to the rescue of the Candy Kingdom when danger came? Would he still answer the call?

_Would he still answer my call?_ For the first time in years, Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum had to stop and wonder, what would life be like if Finn wasn't always there? Without the silly boy who always smiled at her, who always saved her, who looked up to her with mindless adoration not because she was princess, but because he liked her that much. And what would it be like to see him, looking that way at someone else?

Princess Bubblegum frowned, her face darkening. "Unacceptable."

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><p><strong>Author's Notes<strong>**: **And so we begin our first two-part episode. I hadn't intended for it to come in multiple parts initially, but as the interactions kept forming in my head, I felt like forcing it to be one chapter would have made things seem more rushed. So yeah, stay tuned for our next installment.

**IceEagle9-** Glad you're enjoying the story still. I always wanted to see there be some connection between current and old episodes in the series.

**Lord Xantos A. Fowl-** I guess it's been a long day, as I am staring confusedly at your review, so I wish I knew better how to respond. Thanks for reading, I hope it continues to please. ^_^;

**chabitso.0- **I'm really enjoying this story and the amount of feedback it's getting from readers. The more energy I get from readers & reviewers, the easier it is for me to write.

**bigredfox10-** I'm glad you're enjoying it. And trust me, there's much more to come.

**Making Some Toast-** Thanks for reading, I hope this keeps you engrossed.

**aquayzar777-** Ooh! I like that thousand degree tears line!

**beast keeper 9-** I want to finish this story in a good way, so I plan on sticking to it.

**Bigslayerguyman-** Thanks, I agonize over my character exchanges, it really matters to be to be as realistic as possible. Please don't cancel your story because of mine!

**wolfprincess16-** Thanks for reading, I hope to hear from you next chapter as well. ^_^

**The Awesome One-** Why thank you, I don't think I've ever been praised for my characterization and my crap in the same sentence. ^_^

**sunshine loving devil-** Thanks, the hardest part was the song. I try not to rhyme very often, which made this chapter and the proceeding ones a challenge. Choose Goose will be the death of me.


	4. Quest for Ice Shield Part II

With a groan, the Ice King pulled himself into a sitting position. Finn's foot-to-the-face had knocked him through one of his fortress' icy partitions, falling into a dense snow bank far below. He rubbed his head as he looked up, his eyes drawn to a small speck of yellow and red drawing towards him, and with a muffled 'paff' Finn landed in the deep snow several yards away. Drawing himself to his feet, Finn glared angrily down at the prone form of the Ice King.

"Geez, Finn, what the stuff? I coulda broken my neck from that height, and you know I can't fly without my crown!"

Finn tossed the crown into the snow in front of the Ice King. "Put it on."

"Well, duh, it's a moot point now, Finn." Ice King rolled his eyes, "I mean, the fall is over and done. It's a little late f-"

"I SAID PUT ON THE CROWN!" Finn's voice cracked as he screech-snarled the command.

Fear propelled the Ice King to move faster than he had ever moved in his entire life. He was on his knees in an instant, crawling forward and snatching up his crown. He put it on and rose to his feet slowly, eyeing Finn like a caged animal. "O-okay, it's on." He chuckled nervously, "I did what you said, Finn, so you can dial down the intensity a notch or four."

"How dare you." He tightened his grip on the red-hued sword, feeling the demon's blood burn his palms. "_**I**_ don't understand being in love? I don't understand what it's like to have someone standing in the way of _**love**_? Where the math do you get off saying something like that?" The sword, sensing his rage, erupted into brilliant red flames, the heat of which began melting the ice and snow around him. "I've spent the last three years of my _LIFE_, busting my hero humps to keep all of Ooo safe from people like _YOU_, who think that they can force someone to love them through threats and magic." He pointed the sword at the Ice King, who scooted backwards from its heat, "I spent three years of my life, trying to explain to Princess Bubblegum how much I like-liked her, only to discover that I was just some kid to her. I mean seriously, who lets someone who risks their life for them again and again, just go through life thinking that her name is Princess Bubblegum? How little can someone mean to you when you don't even feel like sharing your _name_ with them?"

Ice King's eyes got huge, "Princess Bubblegum's name isn't Princess Bubblegum?"

"That's not important right now!" Finn plunged the sword into the snow, releasing a gout of steam as the flames extinguished themselves. He took a deep breath and struggled to suppress the unchained beast of fury inside him, "Look, I came here because I need your help."

But the Ice King wasn't listening. His mind was reeling, "Princess Bubblegum has a name, a proper name. A name, I might add, that is unknown to her champion. Ooh, oh, oh this is a real game changer!" He thrust a finger at Finn, "When I find out Princess Bubblegum's true name, I'll know something about her that you don't, Finn. I'll possess an intimate connection to her that you, her precious _hero_, doesn't share. And then-"

"Her name is Bonnibel."

Ice King threw his arms into the air, "Oh _come on_! You couldn't even let me have that? Just one thing to hold over you?" Blue light began to form in his hands, "I'll just have to ice you good, that way, you'll never live to share her name with anyone else!"

Finn lost it. He roared and tackled the Ice King, pummeling him with his fists, screaming wordlessly. His cry of bottomless fury echoed across the frigid expanse of the Ice Kingdom, reaching as far as the Cloud Islands. "Grob Gob Glob Grod, darn it all to stuff!_ WHY WON'T YOU LISTEN TO ME? I DON'T WANT PRINCESS BUBBLEGUM, I'M IN LOVE WITH THE FLAME PRINCESS!_" He screamed again and finally rolled off the prone form of the Ice King, too exhausted to continue beating his frustration out of the old wizard. He turned his back to the Ice King and sat down in the snow, burying his face in his knees.

The world was stone silent for several minutes after that, before the Ice King slowly rose into a sitting position. He turned toward Finn's back, taking in the huddled form of the miserable boy. ". . . you don't want to marry Princess Bubblegum?"

Finn silently shook his head.

"You found yourself a princess that you're in love with? And she loves you?"

Finn nodded.

"And you need my help to make it work?"

Finn nodded again. He heard the Ice King rise slowly and walk over to him, laying a hand on his shoulder. When Finn looked up, he could see something different in the old wizard's face. His eyes, normally white and empty, resonated with a deep intelligence and a sort of camaraderie. The person looking down at him at that instant was not the mad wizard who kidnapped princesses, but rather, a sad man who was suffering from the loss of his own princess, years ago. ". . . Ice King?" Finn asked?

The old wizard smiled and nodded, patting the boy on the back, "Yes, Finn, of course I'll help you."

* * *

><p>When Jake returned, he found the Ice King and Finn hard at work, rifling through the vast collection of mystic tomes, magical artifacts, and other such items. The carnage from the battle earlier had been repaired, now the only disarray to exist within the fortress was that which had been created in the duo's quest for knowledge. "Whoa, this is not what I was expecting to find when I came back."<p>

"No kidding," Finn laughed, "Any luck yet, Ice King?"

"No, Finn, nothing yet." The Ice King seemed possessed of an unnatural serenity as he went through the stacks of books around him, "Gunter, are those sandwiches done yet?" The penguin quacked a few times as he moved through the room, depositing fresh sandwiches in the hands of those present. The wizard took a bite and smiled, "Ah, food and friends, how long have I waited for this to come around?"

Jake eyed the sandwich suspiciously, edging over to Finn. "Dude, this is all too weird. Why're you all 'buddy buddy' with the Ice King all of a sudden?"

"Aren't you the one who made the crack about me being his bosom?"

"Yeah, cuz I knew you'd sooner eat stuff off a hamster."

"We hashed some things out." Finn lifted a book up, "_Me in kamp ffffffffffff_ . . . 'nother one that's written in that weird language I can't read."

"That's German, Finn," the Ice King came and collected the book. "Just another relic of the world Pre-Great Mushroom War, long before magic came around." The wizard sighed, "I find myself regretting that I never bothered to learn to cast an Ice Shield spell. Oh, wait," Simon hurried across the room, "I did see something about elemental shield spells. Darn it, now which book was it?" After rustling through his stack, he pulled out a newer book, emblazoned with pictures of dragons and dungeons. "Ah here it is, fourth edition, lemme see." The group drew in around him as he skimmed the page. "Let's see . . . magic missiles, wizard staffs, wizard robes, ah yes, familiars. 'Elemental wizards often have similarly aligned familiars, many of whom are capable of casting support spells such as detection, conjuration, and elemental shields!"

"Shmowzow!" Finn planted his fist into his free palm, "Now, where's your familiar?"

"Honestly, I've never really had a '_dedicated_' familiar," Ice King rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "But if we were going to go off the generic definition of a familiar, it would have to be a small animal, most likely of a similar element and disposition to myself, and most commonly seen in my company.

All eyes slowly panned across to Gunter.

Gunter stared blankly at them, hugging his baby kitten.

The kitten stared at them, its tongue lolling out.

Finn approached the small penguin. "Gunter, are you the Ice King's familiar?"

"Queck."

"Is that a yes?"

"Queck queck, queck."

Finn looked at Jake, "What'd he say?"

Jake looked incredulously at his brother. "Dude, I don't know! I'm a dog, I don't speak bird! Do I assume you speak the language of every human being in Ooo?"

"We haven't met any other humans."

"Shut up, it's the principle of the matter." Jake sighed, "Ice King, do you speak penguin?"

"More or less." The Ice King knelt down, stroking the kitten's chin with one finger, "Gunter, can you make Finn an Ice Shield spell scroll?"

"Queck, queck queck, queck!" The penguin pointed a flipper at the Ice King, then at Finn and Jake."

"Well yes, I am aware that we're usually fighting against each other."

"Queckqueckqueck queck queck, queck. Queck!"

"Don't take that tone with me, young man."

"Queck queck. Queck. QUECK QUECK QUECK!"

The wizard sighed in frustration, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Are you going to make the scroll, or do I need to revoke your keyboard privileges?"

Gunter scowled and put the kitten down, crossing his flippers. "Queck."

"That's better." Ice King shook a disapproving finger at the penguin, "Remember, they are our guests. We must be civil to our guests, understand?"

"Queck."

"Good, now will you please whip up the scroll for Finn?" The penguin's eyes flared a deep blue as his flippers arced through the air, forming arcane symbols as he spat out strange sounds. A series of glyphs began to glow in the air before them, spelling out strings of unintelligible words on a sheet of glittering blue paper that materialized in the air. Completed, the page rolled itself up, a blue string tying it closed, before it flopped to the icy ground. "Thank you, Gunter." The Ice King collected the scroll and handed it to Finn, "I hope this helps."

"Thanks, Ice King." Finn grabbed the scroll and stuffed it into his backpack, then leapt onto Jake's back. The pair quickly made their way off into the distance.

The Ice King and Gunter stared after them for several long minutes, before the Ice King broke the silence. "You know what this means, Gunter?"

"Queck."

"That's right." The Ice King slowly turned, looking down on the penguin with empty white eyes, his mouth spreading into an unhinged grin of sharp teeth. "Now that Finn is smitten with another princess, no one will be able to stop me." He flew back into the keep, cackling maniacally, _"Gonna get me that sweet~ Bubblegum. . ."_

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes<strong>**:** Hey everyone, sorry this is so late. I had intended to put it up on Friday, but I ended up spending the weekend and Monday laid up following dental surgery. I hope the last bit is good, I wrote it under the influence of Vicodin, so I was kind of sharing the "Stanky Old Wizard Eyes" experience with the Ice King.

Once again, I want to offer huge amounts of love and gratitude to all my readers. 'You Would Defy Fate' is the most reviewed, favorited, and alert-primed story I have ever written. Thank you all so much, and I hope you keep reading.

**Chabitso.0- **Yes indeed, and I can't wait to go further into it.

**IceEagle9**- Glad you approve! I always liked the Ice King as well, but then again, my favorite Batman villain is Mister Freeze, so I guess there's a theme.

**Wolfprincess16-** Yes, yes she is. ^_^

**Steelghozt-** I am glad you're enjoying the story. I don't know how many chapters there will be, but there should be at least four more.

**Runefact-** I'm glad it all seems so natural, that is really my major focus. Well that, and being as canon as possible.

**The 13****th**** Leprechaun-** I don't plan on turning PB into a major villain _per se_, but I don't think that it should stop her from being of questionable moral alignment from time to time. Oh, and while I'm talking to you, are they always after y0our lucky charms? Because they will NOT LEAVE ME ALONE. SERIOUSLY!

**Sweetums128neo-** I'm glad you're enjoying the story. ^_^

**Beast keeper 9-** Good, I like my readers on the edge of their seats.

**Lord Xantos A. Fowl-** I don't think that her being a shadowy puppet master is really out of character for her. A lot of times in the show, she's seen doing things or setting things in motion that achieve good results, but often have questionable methods. I _like_ Bonnibel's character, but I'd **LOVE** to psychoanalyze her.

**Trevoor-** Sometimes, I like the references to feel forced. The show is campy in a lot of ways, very B-movie, and I want to preserve that. Although honestly, I couldn't NOT use the whole "Bosom" thing in the Ice King scene, too good. ^_^

**Aquayzar77-** It was a good line. And don't die on me yet, there's still a lot to come.

**Collector Zero-** Simon Petrikov is a tragic character, someone who has so much more development than most of the other characters in the series. Honestly, I'd thought about writing a short story about him and his descent into madness. That would make an epic read.

**Babypowder333-** Gah! Too much rhyming! Kidding, but honestly, I'm glad you're enjoying the story. ^_^ And yes, I admit I do tend to over describe sometimes, it's part of easing the transition from TV to story. Not everyone is as imaginative as you or I.

**Starfairy14s-** PB is Jelly. *breaks into dance* Anyway, the chapters are supposed to be short, I want them to feel like the episodes of the show.

**Bigredfox10-** Well thanks, I give you a happy face as well. ^_^

**Writer of Epics-** Bubblegum is an often dark character, something that I think is part of being eighteen and ruler of a ki9ngdom of people who are (let's face it) seriously mentally impaired. It's sort of like sending Spawn to play guardian over My Little Pony, it's gonna make you a little dark.

**Boona-** Well, you'll have to be patient. Bonnibel will have to convene a meeting with another major royal figure in Finn's life, before their course of action comes clear.

**DogDays124-** God, Lemondrop, that guy is such a butt. ^_^

**Sunshine loving devil-** I am glad, stick around, I am looking forward to seeing how everyone handles the next twist.

**CartoonRevelations-** This is the first fanfiction I have written outside of anime or videogames. I tend to read a very narrow cross-section of stories, but this one just needed to be written. I absolutely think you should write a fanfic pairing them both up. My story is just one story, not the "right" story.

**Quu-** It will be finished, trust me. I'm enjoying this too much to not. I think that Finn & The Flame Princess need a romantic chance, even if it's only in the minds and hearts of the fans. I hope Pendleton Ward reads F&J fanfiction, he should know how many people love his show.

**Mei Fire-** I'm continuing as we speak, and so on. Stick around.

**Beginning and the End-** Well then good news, I just finished it!


	5. Marceline's Lie and Choose Goose's Truth

Their hard sought scrolls in hand, Finn and Jake set out for what might be the last leg of their journey, to find a wizard capable of turning the Fire Shield and Ice Shield spells into a more permanent resolution to the last obstacle between Finn and Princess Vermilion. The brothers agreed that their best bet was the Grand Master Wizard, who would either merge the spells into an artifact of power, or point them to someone who could.

"So, Finn," Jake said as they ambled along through the grasslands, "Once the Grand Master Wizard makes your pendant, or ring, or whatever, then what?"

"Then I go to the Flame Princess and show her that we can be together." Finn laid back and smiled, looking up into the darkening clouds overhead. "And then, I can take her in my arms, and tell her KNIFE STORM!"

"Knife storm?" Jake's head wrapped around to face his brother, "Dude, Finn, what are y- OHMYGLOB!" The siblings leapt apart as the first hail of deadly metal descended from the clouds above. Slicing through the air as they fell, each razor sharp knife hummed with a barely audible ringing as it sped towards the earth, burying itself deep into the fertile soil. "Ow, ow, OW, cover, we need cover, man!"

"Ow, Marceline's cave is nearby, ow, ow, ow!" Finn started to sprint toward the dark stone canopy that hung over the cavern's mouth, Jake close behind. The metal rain hissed and clanged as it fell, pelting the ground around them while they raced across the verdant field. Finn and Jake each swung their swords about over their heads, deflecting most of the blades, but from time to time, one would slip past and draw a red line across Finn's pale flesh, or furrow Jake's golden fur.

As they neared the mouth, Jake gave his brother a shove, sending him rolling into the safety of the stone cavern. The magic dog's body began to lengthen and twist as he extended himself around, trying to minimize the size of a target he made for the magical storm overhead. In this fashion, they both made it inside, safe. "That was a close one." Jake resumed his normal form, "Finn, you okay brother?"

"Yeah, I'm cool." Finn grinned and flashed him a thumbs up, his blue shirt and green bag somewhat tattered from the storm's wrath. "You?"

Jake ballooned and flexed his form, sending several daggers clattering across the stony floor as they dislodged from his body, "I'm good. As long as I see it coming, I can usually morph myself around it."

"Super cool." Finn looked down at the numerous small cuts on his arms and legs, "I'm going to go see if Marceline has any bandages. You coming?"

"Naw, I'll wait for the storm to end." Jake flopped down, "Just leave me the Enchiridion, I wanna read some more Billy stories."

"Alright, yo." Finn handed his brother the book, then headed deeper into the cave. As the darkness grew deeper, Finn allowed his eyes to adjust, granting him a better view of the strangely warm little home that the Vampire Queen resided in. It's sweetly pink siding walls were surprisingly clean, gleaming against the backdrop of the small garden and its remaining living occupants. It always seemed to Finn that this place, but for the relative smallness, seemed more a hidden home to Princess Bubblegum, not the often macabre Marceline. Moving around to the back, he rapped on the door. "Yo, Marceline, you home?"

Deep within the confines of the rustic little house, something stirred. Tendrils of shadow raced through the inside, intertwining and crawling over each other as they descended into the tiny kitchen. The wriggling mass converged and began to devour each other, the tenebrous entity growing in height, patches thinning out into pale colors, a pair of black dots gleaming out from the face of the still forming shape. With precise movements, one slowly solidifying hand extended and grasped the doorknob, turning it, pulling the door inward.

Standing in the frame, dressed in a burgundy tank top, navy low-rise jeans, and high-heeled, knee high boots, was the concupiscent creature herself, the Vampire Queen, Marceline. "Hey Finn, what's up?" She hooked her slender arm around his and dragged him into the house, "come inside." Finn laughed as he was lifted off his feet and forced inside, the door closing behind him without a hand to push it. As she took her arm away from him, she noticed the smears of crimson against her gray skin; her immediate response was a reddening of everything in her vision, a quickening of her pulse, and the immediate desire to lick every trace of crimson from the human's skin. She suppressed the urge, but the desire made her shudder. Living over a thousand years, drinking the red hue from everything as an adaptation for survival, she couldn't even remember what blood tasted like. Real blood, real _HUMAN_ blood, was a legendary delicacy, like ambrosia or royal tarts. "What the nuts, Finn? Seriously, do you think that travelling to the _VAMPIRE_ is a great idea when you're covered in blood?" She blushed, half from embarrassment over her impulses, half over her surprised concern for his well-being.

"Heh, sorry, didn't think about that." Finn blushed sheepishly, "Jake and I got caught in a knife storm passing by. Do you have any bandages?"

"Yeah, sure," Marceline answered absently as her nostrils flared, drawing in the scent of his warm, fresh blood. Just a taste wouldn't hurt, right? She dispelled the thoughts angrily, "But first, you march your butt upstairs and shower. Unless," she grinned coquettishly, floating around his shoulders in a languid position, "Your intention was to make it impossible for me to not put my mouth all over you."

"Okayshowergoingnowbye!" Finn was a blur as he flew up the ladder, followed by the phantasmal shiver of Marceline's laughter. She knew he'd have a predictably kid-like response to that approach, unsettled much the same as he had been about the true nature of 'Couple's Movie Night'.

As she drifted into the kitchen to find a snack, she absently licked the blood off her finger, not realizing what she was doing until it was too late; the immediate response was a supernatural bowing of her spine as she nearly folded in half, her eyes rolling back in her head for an instant. She felt like Finn had kicked her in the pleasure center of her brain, sending an explosive torrent of endorphins raging through her system, provoking a guttural feline howl and a momentary lapse of her self-control as she collapsed to the floor in a shuddering heap. When she regained her senses, she discovered that she'd climbed the ladder and crawled halfway across the floor of her bedroom, her ears filled with the hiss of the hot shower water. She immediately fled downstairs and out of the house.

The fact that his blood usurped her self-control so completely unnerved her; she'd been around for over a thousand years, preferably on her own, as it seemed like every time she allowed someone in close they burned her. Like Ash, the handsome wizard who'd compromised her character and taken away her precious Hambo. And of course, who could forget Bonnibel? Now, there was this silly human boy, who threatened to change her once more. Her sour reverie was broken by the sound of snoring, her eyes drifting to the sight of Jake, asleep at the cave's mouth. Using the Enchiridion as a blanket, he was blissfully ignorant of the deadly hail of steel several yards away, or the vampire drawing near. This was one impulse she would never deny herself…

"Jake, wake up."

"Mmm… Finn?" Jake's sleepy eyes opened slowly to the sight of a great wolf's mouth opening upon him, millions upon millions of teeth in tightly packed rows, leading his eyes to a throat so deep and cavernous that it opened upon the gates of Hell itself upon the other side. He was now awake. "GHA~!" And screaming, like a dainty little girl. As he scrambled against the cave wall, trying to get away, the wolf disintegrated into the hovering form of Marceline. The vampire was doubled over with laughter, clutching her belly. "Oh my GLOB, Marceline, what the nuts? I almost puked myself inside out!"

"Your face was righteous!" Marceline floated down next to the magical dog, "Oh, Jake, never stop being you."

"Wouldn't dream of it, babe."

"So, what heroic feats of fun are you boys up to this time?" She made a face, "I heard that Bubblegum got nabbed by the Ice King again."

"Yeah, we stumbled in on that, done and done." Jake closed the heavy book and set it aside, "What we're doing is heading to the Grand Master Wizard to see if he can help Finn with his 'Princess Problem'."

"What 'Princess Problem'?" Marceline smirked, "He got another idea how to make Bonnibel like-like him?"

"Naw, she's old news." Jake waved her off, "Ever since Flame Princess said she liked him back, he's been on this bend to find a way for them to hook up."

The warm glow from Finn's blood was instantly gone. "F-flame Princess?"

"Oh yeah," Jake pulled one of Gunter's sandwiches out of his pocket, biting hungrily into it. "Last time Bubblegum gave him the cold shoulder, he couldn't take it and he broke down. So I went princess hunting and found him one that openly likes him, like wants to hug him and junk, only problem is she's hot, like literally made of fire 'HOT'."

"Sounds like kind of a deal breaker."

"Naw, we got some elemental shield spells." Jake flashed her a thumbs up, "Soon, there won't be nothing between them but clothes." Jake whistled and cat-called, "Mmmmmmmmmmm-hm, _SCANDALOUS~_."

Marceline wasn't listening. She was wrapped up in the cold sickness in her stomach, rancid slime curling upon itself like a snake. Forget Ash and Bonnibel, it was worse than selling Hambo to a witch, much worse.

* * *

><p>Singing to himself, Finn emerged from the bathroom, clean, bandaged, and wearing a fresh change of clothes from his pack. As he turned, he found Marceline perched on the edge of her bed, bass in hand. "Yo awesome girl, what's the haps?"<p>

Marceline looked at him awkwardly, almost reluctantly, a slight blush on her cheeks. She was angry and humiliated by this side of herself, this fragility that Finn seemed able to evoke in her. "So, I had this idea for some new material, you up for a jam session?"

"Does Jake like to chase his tail?" Finn withdrew his tape recorder and set it down, "So, Do you want me to start the rhythm and you'll come in, or do you want to lead and have me fade in, or-"

"N-no, stop!" Marceline thrust a hand toward him, cutting him off mid sentence. "Just . . . I want you to listen, okay?"

"Yeah, no sweat, Marci." Finn flopped down on her bed, looking at her with interest, "Lay it on me."

Marceline distanced herself from him, sighing deeply. This was no different than any of the other hundred times that she'd played and sang for Finn, nothing different what so ever. It wasn't like he was going to stop being around when she wanted him.

Right?

She brought her fingers across the bass' strings, producing a mournful, sepulchral tone, and took a deep breath.

_Lah lah dee dah dah~_

_I've walked this world a thousand years,_

_Lah lah dee dah dah~_

_No time for mortal doubts and fears._

_Mustn't let you petrify_

_Me~_

_With your innocence so_

_Bli~thley~_

_For I do not have the luxury_

_Of lettings things go on like this_

_It isn't the same_

_Your fickle heart has changed~ _

_This game._

_Lah lah deed ah dah~_

_You don't understand what travesties I've been privy_

_Lah lah deed ah dah~_

_You don't understand what seeing you does to me_

_How others who have come_

_Close~_

_Have scarred me beyond_

_Ri~poste~_

_And I'm ever so afraid_

_of letting you do the same_

_but now I'm ashamed_

_Your fickle heart as changed~_

_This game_

As her song became a melodic stream of bass tones that vibrated in his skin, Finn began to sense something. Marceline wasn't just singing another song, there was something significant in its words, something he _NEEDED_ to understand. Her intensity had changed from a girl who was using her dark nature to off-put people; she was shedding her undead skin before him, revealing something deep and guarded.

_The wizard used magic to twist me_

_And turn me_

_And burn me until I cried_

_His selfish desire_

_I nearly expired_

_From shame_

_Self-derided_

_Another came to me_

_Was sweetly disarming_

_With saccharine_

_Youthful indiscretion_

_A deviant obsession_

_Never should sugar_

_Taste so sour_

_Now you _

_So innocent_

_So trusting_

_I'm lusting to break you_

_You're trusting me not to_

_Would you still trust me_

_If you knew what I wanted you to do?_

_Would you take me up_

_Like her~_

_Shield me_

_Like her~_

_Let me armor myself in you_

_Like she's prone to_

_You just HAVE to_

_Because I . . ._

_. . . I . . . _

She choked, unable to finish the line.

Finn's eyes were strangely focused on her, drifting a mere few inches away, looking vulnerable. "Marceline?"

"Finn."

"Finn!" Jake was a coil of yellow as he burst up into her room, startling them both. Finn jumped in surprise, Marceline yelped and fled to the bathroom, unable to show her face. "The storm let up and oh my glob, you have to see this," he said with breathless excitement as he held the Enchiridion out to his brother.

Finn took the book and read the page that Jake held open for him, his brow spiking with surprise, then darkening with determination. He had found what he was looking for. "Marceline, we have to go." He didn't wait for a reply as he leapt down the ladder, Jake close behind. Her song was forgotten.

Only after she heard the door close behind them did she emerge, watching them head for the brilliant expanse of the sunlit world, the knife storm a thing of the past. After watching them go, she retrieved her spider and flattened him in her fist, making a phone of him. She dialed a number she'd left untouched for years, but still knew by heart. "Hello Bonnibel. Yes, yes I'm sure you are. We need to talk, it's about Finn. Yes, yes, I'll see you within the hour."

* * *

><p>Surrounded by colorful banners and knights in many styles of armor, Choose Goose's tent was a glimmering centerpiece within the sea of waving cloth. As the heroes moved toward it through the throng of armored warriors, Choose Goose immediately spotted them, waving one of his seemingly boneless arms. "Salutations heroes, the storm's gone away. What can I get you on this bright, sunny day?"<p>

Finn responded by pulling the Enchiridion from his bag, "Choose Goose, we know."

The goose's head flopped over, his beak grinning oddly at them. "Cryptic Finn's a bore, so why not tell me more."

In answer, Jake opened the Enchiridion and set it before the goose, showing the illustration of a foppishly dressed fowl, handing the book to Mannish the minotaur for safe keeping. "We know you wrote the Enchiridion. The book is hundreds of years old, so I don't know how it's possible, but this picture is obviously you, dude."

The goose laughed and clapped his hands in childlike joy, "At last, the riddle has been unmade, no longer must the façade be played. Ask your questions, heroes of Ooo, and I will answer each one true."

"Who are you, Choose Goose, really?"

"I am Choose Goose, chooser of the right. I test heroes for their might. And when one prospers in the darkest hour, I bequeath unto them objects of power." He folded his floppy legs under him, "Once, I was a bard, who followed heroes 'round. When one championed for Glob, I immortalized him in song, when one fell in battle, my songs would tattle. One time, in a fight, a hero's virtue soured, and he killed me to prevent my songs from labeling him a coward."

"Dude!"

"That's messed up." The boys listened with rapt interest.

"The saviour, Abraham, took me into the heavens, where I looked down upon Ooo. And he told me, were I willing, Glob had work for me to do. There would be many heroes, each one would have a foe, and many artifacts of power, but where would each one go? The Choose Goose, oh the Choose Goose, he could judge the heroes fair, and if they proved worthy, legendary power he could share."

"Wait a minute, let me get this straight," Finn struggled to understand, "You're saying that Glob has charged you to judge the virtue of heroes, and pass out items of power to those you choose worthy?"

"Indeed, indeed," Choose Goose chortled with each word, "A fine game, and you two are my finest players."

"Then give me the stones." Finn's request was spoken so directly, so concisely, that it shocked him. From the wide-eyed glance that Jake paid him, his brother was equally caught off guard. It was like something deep inside spoke through him, making demands.

"Use their names, champion." Choose Goose's expression was bemused, challenging. "Use the names that they are given, address them with respect."

"I want the stone of Infinisignis…"

"Ah, the stone of flame's repel," the goose grinned conspiratorially, "I assume the other is for water, as well?" Finn nodded mutely, almost unable to acknowledge the weight of his request; this was committing himself to the pursuit of the Flame Princess, turning his back on Princess Bubblegum for good, this was a path of no return. "A grand request, and you both are the truest heroes, certainly worthy of the artifacts you seek. However," Choose Goose rose to his feet, "You must earn these artifacts. Are you up to the challenge, heroes?"

Jake held up his fist, "Are you ready to claim that Princess?"

Finn bumped his fist, smiling as a bright blush ran through his face, "Yeah… yeah, I think I'm ready."

"Then the quest is begun!" Choose Goose's proclamation was grand and large, calling attention to the knights around them all. Many drew closer, waiting to see what task the Choose Goose had chosen for the boy and his dog. "And a special quest it is, chosen for special heroes." He reached below his stand, drawing forth an object wrapped in a shroud. He drew the cloth away, revealing a familiar sword, its blade a coruscating series of black and white angles, plunging into infinity.

Finn gasped, "That's my sword!"

"The fourth dimensional sword, of your unintentional design; you thought it destroyed, but I saved it for another time." Choose Goose slashed the blade through the air, rending space and opening a tesseract before their eyes; the rush of air drawn into it caused them both to scream, the vortex drawing them inexorably closer to the mysteries beyond it. Finn grabbed Jake's legs, while Jake's arms twined around a nearby tree stump. "If the stones of Infinis you seek, through this portal you must peek. For if you wish to defy nature's law, your journey must continue to the land of Aaa."

"Choose Goose, " Finn's fingers began to slip, "When I get back, I'm gonna-" The sentence was left unfinished as Jake's grip came free, sending them both tumbling into the whirling hole in space and time. Choose Goose tossed the fourth dimensional sword in after them and waved, watching the hole seal itself behind them.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong> Dun dun duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun *dramatic reverb*  
>I've been anxiously awaiting the chance to take the story this way. Did anyone see this coming? I hope not. ^_^<p>

Anyway, the reason I wanted this to be a double chapter (cuz it is, 8 pages, close to 4000 words) is because the next one might be a bit late. I have to go in for more surgery tomorrow, so I will be laid up for a few days. I wanted you all to have something to digest in the mean time.

And apologies for Marceline's song, I'm not a song writer. however, I am a HUGE fan of the line "Would you still trust me if you knew what I wanted you to do?" That was golden. ^_^

**Sweetums128neo:** I think "love" was the appropriate word at the time, because Finn wanted to reach Simon, deep in the Ice King's twisted psyche. The key to piercing through a millennium of madness, was to drive the inexorable point home, that Finn's heart lies elsewhere. Besides, if he just keeps like-liking girls, it's never going to sound like anything but FP is simply a rebound crush.

**Chabitso.0:** I've always loved Ice King. He makes me giggle, and sometimes be sad.

**Beast keeper 9:** I can't undo what the crown has done. Honestly, I think that Ice King's madness is the key element that makes him a likeable character. Part of his allure is knowing that he was once a normal guy, like any of us.

**IceEagle9:** Simon helped Finn because he saw himself in the boy, however, Ice King is all about getting dat royal booty. ^_^

**Boona:** Good, I want to see people excited for updates.

**Lord Xantos A. Fowl:** I'm glad you liked the ending, I thought you would. As for the vicodin, I had just gone in for some dental surgery that didn't go as planned, so there were serious pain killers for the aftermath. As for "Bubba" gum . . . ***EPIC facepalm***

**Wolfprincess16: **How dare you, I love my cheese!

**The F8ful 1:** I chose the name Princess Vermilion. It's pretty, and it means a vivid red or orange-red color. I wish there was a website for it, I'd post there, but this is all there is for now.

**Starfairy14s:** A little ominous is good for the story. And I wanted the readers to be a little sad, Simon is a sympathetic character.

**Writer of Epics:** Glad you're enjoying it. Princess Vermilion is currently stewing in her glass prison. It's where her father keeps her, to prevent the further destruction of his court, and honestly, she's given up on the chance of them ever going anywhere. Trust me, her big part is still to come. ^_^

**Sunshine loving devil:** It will continue, it just might not be as fast for a week or two. If anyone is concerned, shoot me a PM, I get them on my android.

**BigRedFox10:** I wasn't planning to make it a lemon, honestly. I don't write that stuff because I think that sex is far too overused in modern writing as a sell point. If I can write a damn good story without gratuitous T&A, then I feel accomplished. I give all my stuff a "T" rating because sometimes there is blood, and I tend to swear. This story is good through, there's very little opportunity for blood, and nobody swears ANYWHERE.

**Beginning and the End:** Ice King will always creep. He's crazy creepy.

**Motherbirdnerd:** Yes, LSP will have a key part in the climax of the story.

**Team Fang:** Thanks! I keep my thesaurus around at all times.

**The Awes0me 0ne:** Your hitman never made it past my anime collection, poor sap, one nosebleed and it was over. Next time, make sure you don't hire a hemophiliac.

**Jermjumpin54:** Stay tuned, I think you'll like where this is going.


	6. The Stones of Infinis Part I

End over end, spiraling through the endless expanse of black and white, Finn and Jake descended. They could not tell how fast they were falling, or even if they were falling, there was not any wind to push across their faces or through their hair. All they were aware if was the disorienting spinning, rolling, tumbling motion that they could not put a pause to. Suddenly, a point of light raced toward them, and the pair found themselves hurtling through the air. Finn resumed screaming, reaching out for his brother, who drew him into the cushioning mass of his expandable torso. "Holy cow, what are we gonna do?"

"I dunno, Finn buddy," Jake inflated himself as large as he could, "but I hope the landing is soft." The pair streaked across the heavens, spiraling downward, slamming into the earth below them with a somewhat anticlimactic poof. Jake deflated with a groan, allowing Finn to crawl out from the protective layers of enchanted fur, his blue eyes filling with a vast expanse of snow and ice.

"Shmowzow, that was nuts!" Finn flopped backward into the chilly snow, "Remind me to pound Choose Goose's butt next time we see him; if this is where we go to find the stones of Infinis, we could have just walked to the Ice . . . King . . .dom?" Finn's eyes were locked on a towering snow-covered man, his eyes staring endlessly out toward the horizon, locked on something none of them could see. The bubble wand held to his pursed lips was encrusted with pink ice, and suddenly, Finn realized that they had travelled much further than they could have ever imagined. "Oh my Glob. . . Jake, is that?"

Jake's jaw hit the snow at his feet, "Oh my Glob, that's one of the Gumball Guardians."

"Worse," Finn rose to his feet, "This is the Candy Kingdom." They stood in their tracks, awestruck, as the magnitude of it all overwhelmed them. The Candy Palace, the Guardians of the Royal Promise, even the little hamlet where the citizens lived was frozen solid under several feet of snow and ice. The guardians themselves were only visible from mid-chest up, just as the tops of the castle spires peered from the snow. "This is bizewbs, what could have done this?"

"My lady? Is that you, my lady?" A small candy woman in a modest black dress came running toward the brothers, slowing her pace as she got closer. Her white, round body was offset by streaks of pale green. "Oh, my apologies, I had mistaken you for Dame Fionna, returned with word of my master."

"Nope, sorry." Finn smiled and waved, "This is the Candy Kingdom, right?"

"Yes, it was, or used to be." The woman's soft voice took on a dour tone. "Forgive me, where are my manners." She curtsied, "Greetings, travelers. I am Spearmint Butleress, Estate Manager of Prince Gumball. Welcome to the Candy Kingdom. I wish my lord could be available to greet you personally, but as you can see, things are a bit out of sorts."

"What happened here?"

"The Ice Queen," the small woman said with horror in her voice, "For a long time, she had made sport of catching the young men of Aaa royalty, but we have always had Dame Fionna and her sister, Cake, to defend us."

Jake sniggered, "What a dumb name, Fionna. Who names a candy person Fionna?" Finn hushed him, irritated.

"Fionna is not a candy person," Spearmint said mildly, her expression expertly neutral. "Dame Fiona is a human, the last human in all of Aaa."

"Not so much anymore," Finn flashed her a thumbs up, "I'm a human."

"Then you must meet with Dame Fionna," Spearmint said with some degree of delight, "She would be most pleased to find another of her own kind. Once this mess is resolved, of course."

"So, where is this babe at?" Jake asked, eager to move along.

"She and Cake are currently at the battlefront with those still able to fight." She pointed west, toward the Ice Kingdom, "But her forces are dwindling."

"All the more reason to get on our way," Finn pulled his sweater out and slipped it over his head, "Let's go, Jake."

"Dude, what about the stones of Infinis?" Jake chased after his brother, "I thought we came here so you could hook up with the flame princess!"

"We did, but I can't ignore another human in need," Finn grinned, "It's against my alignment."

* * *

><p>Miles away from the Candy Kingdom, in the snow-covered tundra that was once the grasslands, a tense battle was being waged for the future of Aaa. The Ice Queen, her fearsome powers over ice and water amplified by the magic gems she wore, was dominating the battlefield. Behind the snowy embankment of the tree house, Fionna and her small band of resistance fighters was huddled, struggling to devise a plan.<p>

The human girl shivered unconsciously in the cold; she wore the sweater that Prince Bubblegum had bought her, but even the warmth of liking someone a lot could not fully counter the bone-chilling force of the Ice Queen's magic. She rubbed her hands together, "Okay, we need a new plan."

"Donkus to plans," Rubicund, the flame prince, scowled at Fiona and Marshall Lee. "I don't know how much more my flameshields can handle." He ran a hand through his fiery mohawk, "I say you give up and come back to the flame kingdom as my princess, Fionna." He grinned mischievously, "There's many a way to keep warm over there."

"Yeah, forget about the rest of us, sounds like a great idea." Marshall Lee scowled, baring his fangs at the fire elemental. "Fionna, I don't know useful Prince 'Can't-keep-it-in-his-pants' is really going to be, all he's done is complain about the cold and try to pick you up."

"Says the corpsicle! How many songs have you broken into since this began?" Rubicund countered, "How about we see how useful my fire is on you? I bet Fionna could warm up real fast with a fire fed on thousand year old fuel."

"Bring it on, Matchstick," Marshall brandished his axe-base, "I'll bury you head first in this glacier."

"I'd like to see you try."

"You're about to."

"Bring it on!"

Fionna snarled and white-washed them both, "Both of you, shut the bizewbs up! OH. MY. GLOB. Boys are stupid."

Cake rolled her eyes, "I hear you there, sister."

"Grob Gob Glob Grod," Rubicund swore as the snow evaporated, smoke and steam pouring off his slightly greyed face.

"Quit your whining." Marshall Lee hissed and spat snow, wiping it from his eyes and hair.

The Ice Queen laughed maniacally, her cackle echoing across the frigid expanse. "About ready to call it a day, Fionna?"

"Eat zombie stuff, you blue-skinned butt!" Fionna brandished her golden sword, its well-polished blade gleaming in the stark whiteness, "I'm not letting you get away with what you've done with the members of Aaa's royal houses."

"Oh come on!" The mocking tone became exasperated, "What is your deal? I left you Prince Firepants and the dead guy, isn't two princes enough for you?"

Fionna blushed furiously, provoking devious grins from Marshall and Rubicund, "They're not 'MY' princes, you dingus!"

"Not like I haven't been offering," the fire prince mumbled.

Cake's tail suddenly frizzed up. "Why do I smell dog?" She looked around, confused.

"Anyway," she leapt out, sword drawn, "You're going to return Gumball and the other princes, and pay for what you did to the great heroine Bettie."

"Bring it on, girlie." Ice Queen clutched her hands together, building a massive ice spell. "Now that I've claimed the stones of Infinis from that decrepit old hack of a heroine, my powers are unstoppable!" She released her spell in that instant, raining jagged ice arrows down on Fionna. She fled for cover, but the arrows came faster.

"Fionna!" Marshall flew out from behind the tree house, using his body to catch as many of the icy projectiles as he could. Combined with the sheet of flame that Rubicund cast out as wekk, she managed to make it back unscathed.

"Oh my Grod, Marshall!" Fionna stared in horror as he landed, displaying the numerous frozen projectiles that dug deep into his flesh, "Just relax, we'll get Doctor Prince up here right away."

"It's cool, no big, son." Marshall started removing the arrows, revealing tattered clothing, but otherwise unmarred skin. "Ice isn't on the 'will kill' list; it hurts like bizewbs, but I'll live."

"Oh thank goodness." She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Aww snap, son, takes more than that to put down Marshall Lee, The Vampire King." He winked at the girl, "I'd do anything to make sure you were safe, Bro-feem. So, what do we do next?"

"Doesn't anybody care about what I did out there?"

Fionna ignored him, "I don't know what to do, I'm out of ideas."

"I have an idea." The three of them turned toward the speaker, a young boy in blue shirts and t-shirt, his head covered by a white bear hood. At his side, a golden-furred dog plodded along casually, a dopey smile on his face.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong> Hooray for Aaa!

The second surgery went much better than the first, so while I still can't eat solid food, I'm not brain fried on vicodin, so writing happened! Here is the first part of our ordeal in Aaa, which will last two, maybe even three parts. So I plan on indulging people who love Fionna, and I may even end up nudging her toward one of her suitors.

Which one? Stay tuned.

Oh, and because I forgot to say it. All my love to the readers and reviewers; if you review it, you're awesome. If you read it, review it and be awesome.

**Bigslayerguyman:** Glad you liked it. I have not written songs in years, so I loaded every Adventure Time song I could download onto my droidphone and listened to it repeatedly while writing.

**Lord Xantos A. Fowl:** Personally, I love harem comedies. Particularly R+V and Negima. As for this story, well, I haven't decided yet, but it's gonna be a big finish.

**Beginning and the End:** I heart Marceline. Before Flame Princess came around, she was my favorite.

**Sweetums128neo:** +3 Respect? Awesome, that means I level up. Now I can wear a monocle or speak with a cheesy British accent. Cheerio! Spit spot. Meat & two vegs, and all that rot. ^_^

**IceEagle9:** I wanted this story to be an epic. I think I'm well on the way to achieving that.

**Blood Brandy:** I can't say Fionna is mirroring Finn's journey, because I think the gender reversal would have a HUGE effect on the standard exchanges. For example, I think the princes would be HOUNDING Fionna for attention, and I think that having her be a female character (less impulsive, more emotionally driven and prone to genuflect) would have MASSIVE repercussions on how the whole series would have gone. Seeing the whole series with her as a lead would make the whole thing COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. And I would pay money to see that.

**CartoonRevelations:** Thanks for the good juju. And I will make sure to go check your story out. ^_^

**Motherbirdnerd:** So glad people liked the song, I was sweating bullets.

**Writer of Epics:** Trust me, the princess problem is only going to intensify.

**Steelghozt:** I don't see how she could not develop feelings for him. There is A LOT between them that neither of them can find with other people in Ooo.

**Normal nightmare:** I decided to go to the land of Aaa after seeing how many Fionna and Cake fanfictions there were. I wanted the story to have something for everyone.

**Mei Fire:** ^_^ Good, I'm glad you're enjoying it.

**Slyphen Frazer:** It would be awesome.

**Iron Reprieve:** I wanted the exchange between Marceline and Finn to punch people in the heart guts. It punched me there several times during the writing.

**Sunshine loving devil:** Good! I hope the story continues to delight and entertain.

**Wolfprincess16:** Here is your update, now stop stealing my cheeses! Do you know how many pizza nights I've had to abort because "SOMEONE" keeps stealing all my dairy products? GLOB!

**GreyWardenMan37:** While I think the response of other princesses to Finn's relationship status is IMPORTANT, I don't think the whole story should revolve around it.

**Bigredfox10:** Done and done. Enjoy. ^_^


	7. Intermission: A Hitch in the Plan

Down the taffy colored hallways of the candy castle, Peppermint Butler did as was his duty, escorting the rather unexpected guest toward his mistress' inner chambers. It had been many a year since the visitor had come, her last departure not one of pleasant terms, her last words a vile oath to never set foot within the orange-hued corridors of this 'poorly painted saccharine caricature of sweetness and light' she had called it while the banana foster guards had escorted her out. She had sworn never to return, but here she was, and at his mistress' behest, no less. Reaching the large set of double doors he turned, raising his gaze to the face of his escorted visitor, floating over his head with lazy grace. "The lady is within this chamber, shall I announce you?"

"Please do, Peppermint Butler, I wouldn't _dare_ break with proper protocol."

Peppermint butler turned and opened the doors, "Announcing the arrival of her royal majesty, Marceline, the vampire queen."

Parasol in hand, the vampire drifted past the butler and into the inner sanctum of her dubious ally, Princess Bubblegum. "Good afternoon, Bonnibel, lovely weather we're having, yes?" Her eyes were drawn around the laboratory's interior; each work station and apparatus had been pushed to the outermost borders of the space, permitting a number of display boards to be brought in. Each white surface was carefully covered with a marked up scenario, depicting a certain human boy and his romantic interest, and how they might be divided.

Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum, in the midst of working out another such scenario, waved absently at her servant. "That is all, Peppermint Butler, you may go. Please ensure that we are not interrupted."

"As you wish, my lady." He departed silently, closing the doors behind him.

Marceline chuckled as she drifted around the room, examining each scenario with a thoughtful eye. "It's been years since I came here last." She sighed wistfully, "There are a lot of memories to be had here, eh Bonnibel?"

"Do you really think that now is the best time to be waxing nostalgic?"

Her voice saccharine, Marceline replied "Ah, now there's the Bonnibel I remember." Her red eyes gleamed with chained fury.

The princess' voice was hard as she turned, "I thought you were going to keep him safely neutral. Having you as his 'bud' was supposed to be enough to prevent this sort of thing from transpiring. Clearly I overestimated your ability to be entertaining."

"Don't pin this on me." The vampire queen's voice became hard as well, "He's been chasing after _YOU _all these years. Don't you think it was a little unrealistic to assume that you could string him along, neither confirming nor denying his feelings, and he would never want more than that?" Her laugh was harsh and forced, "For a genius, that's a rather stupid expectation."

"How dare you," Bubblegum scowled and shook her fist; "I am the foremost intellect in this entire kingdom."

Marceline crossed her arms, "From here, you're just another candy person with a silly hat."

Face screwed into a furious pout, Bubblegum was taken off guard when the vampire descended quickly, bringing herself into very intimate closeness with the princess. "Marceline?"

"What happened to us, Bonnie?" Marceline asked her quietly, her floating body close enough that Bubblegum could feel the coolness radiating from her skin. "I remember the Princess I met when I first came here; curious about the first non-candy person she'd met aside from Lumpy Space Princess, curious about what a vampire was, wondering what I ate, where I slept. You were so inquisitive. That's why I kept coming around," her smile was bittersweet, "I hated the pomp and circumstance of Ooo royalty. I never asked to be vampire queen, but after killing him, someone had to step in. Your mother hated me. Queen Cotton Candy used to find so many ways to try and keep you occupied when the meetings came up, but you always found a way to sneak in." Bubblegum's anger seemed to taper off as the reminiscing took hold of her. "But my favorite was sixteen year old Princess Bubblegum."

"It would be," Bonnibel said with a soft smile. "My rebellious phase."

"Bonnibel Bubblegum, dressed in black licorice." The girls giggled in unison, "Wasn't going to be the princess, wasn't going to learn princess-y ways, just wanted to run away and join a band."

"Join your band." Bubblegum sighed, "I was so stupid back then."

"You were algebraic." Marceline's voice became huskier, "I remember the first time you asked me to drink your red, just a little, so the queen wouldn't notice you getting pinker."

"Not that you were a paragon of self-control."

"Is that spot still white?"

Marceline's question caused the princess to blush a deep scarlet, turning away quickly, her hand unconsciously drifting toward the waistline of her dress. She fidgeted for several long minutes, "It's better now," she responded too quickly.

As Marceline looked deeply into Bubblegum's eyes, she could see the path of their history together. The first meeting, her awkwardness over how inquisitive Bonnibel had been, never afraid to ask a question that might have adult connotations. Years of sneaking behind the queen's back, hanging out, playing music together, being best friends. The, as Bubblegum became older, her interests started to mature as well; Marceline remembered holding her hand, sitting together at the movies. Then the king passed away, and Marceline remembered her shirt soaked with sugary tears, and a hungry kiss that begged not to be left alone.

They crossed a threshold that night, they went into a deeper territory than they had ever even dreamed of. Reds were always sweet, but Bonnibel was the princess, and hers was the sweetest red of all. It quickly became impossible to stay away from her, to stop wanting the taste, and rebellious Princess Bubblegum was eager to drown the vampire queen in her unique sweetness. By the time the princess was drawing near her eighteenth birthday, they were meeting almost nightly. A sudden shift in Bubblegum's eyes told Marceline that they were both reaching the same memory; discovery, the queen stumbling in and fainting, and her sudden and unexpected passing. Bonnibel became the new ruler of the Candy Kingdom, and she couldn't look the vampire in the eyes anymore. That was where it ended.

It ended a second time, in that instant. Bubblegum's eyes became hard and cold, and she moved away from Marceline with quick steps. "You want to know what happened to 'us', Marceline? I grew up." The words stung, for both of them. "My mother walked in and saw something that she never should have seen, that never should have happened. You know what her last words were to me?"

"I don't want to know." Marceline felt sick.

"Bonnibel, you need to be strong for the kingdom now. You need to be a proper ruler, one who is above foolish teenage rebellions." She turned to glare harshly at the vampire, "So I did. That's what happened to us; one of us had to grow up, and it wasn't you. I grew up and put my people before me, and discovered I didn't have the time or freedom to dally in rebellious, _deviant_ behaviors."

That was what set Marceline off; if she'd just decided she wasn't there anymore, or that she'd found someone else, that would have been acceptable. It would have hurt, but it would have at least been a real reason. But to deride what went between them, to belittle it with cruel words. That was unacceptable. Her eyes flared red and her whole body seemed to shudder for an instant, almost changing shape. "Deviant behaviors . . . of course . . ."

Her demeanor changed; the pain, the anger, was gone. A cold smile split her face. "Of course." Marceline was poised and controlled. "You know why I like you, Bonnibel? You're _SAFE_. You've always been safe, Bonnibel, and that's why I like you. Because I know I can come and go from Finn's life, and you'll NEVER be a threat to me."

Princess Bubblegum seemed dumbstruck by this change. " . . . That's makes no sense." She smiled coldly, "It seems like once a week you're playing some silly game with him, leading him away from his heroic responsibilities. You spend more time sidetracking Finn than I do researching Plumboletric Neucleosugar Theory."

"Yes. _playing._" The vampire queen chuckled darkly. The sound sent shivers down the princess' spine. "Biding my time. Don't you think that Finn's still a little . . . young? BUT, you give him three, four years . . . well . . . " She bit her finger teasingly, "I imagine that eighteen-year-old Finn the Vampire King will be a lot of fun, for a very long time. And trust me," she drifted around in a sultry way, her long midnight hair creeping around her face, "I could keep him _MUCH_ too busy to save you from the Ice King, or the Lich King, or any other of the silly things that you seem to need his special kind of problem solving for."

Bubblegum turned away from her work, immediately very aware of Marceline and very unhappy about it. For the first time, Bubblegum regarded Marceline not as a playful distraction, but as a potential object of romantic interest. Her beauty was more dark, exotic, while Bubblegum was sweet, smart, and royalty; two of those three things, Finn didn't really care about. An eighteen-year-old Finn would require more distraction than playful experiment testing, unusual get-togethers, and the odd quest. He would want more from her . . . no, from whoever he was with, because she hadn't returned his advances. For the first time, she realized that she wasn't the girl beside him anymore. She'd allowed herself to be replaced. "Oh glob!" The shock made her pale and sent Marceline into wracking peals of laughter.

"And it finally hits home," the vampire queen licked her lips, "How delicious. For the first time, Bonnibel Bubblegum is the dumb one."

"A problem easily remedied." Bubblegum slipped off her lab coat and slung it across the nearest table. "I shall find Finn and renew our connection."

"It's going to take more than liquid pyrotechnics and candy zombies to fix this." Marceline grinned, "We make music together; we run with the wolves. What do you two share?"

"My very existence made him a hero." Bubblegum marched toward the door, "and every hero needs a princess; to rescue, to pine for, to one day win"

"Then it's a duel," Marceline descended, her ruby red boots clicking on the floor. "We both go and show our hands, offer ourselves up. See which of us can take the heat," she laughed again, "So to speak."

As the pair left, neither of them noticed Lumpy Space Princess in her vantage point outside the laboratory window. Neither did she notice the departure of the princess and her rival, as she was too busy exclaiming into her cell phone, "Oh _MY GLOB_, Hotdog Princess, you will not _LUMPING_ believe what I just heard . . ."

* * *

><p><strong><span>Author's Notes:<span>** Oh my GLOB, you guys! In just one month, this story has 110 reviews and over 6500 hits. WOW. That makes this story officially the highest rated, read, and reviewed story I have ever put up on this site, and in just one month; I have stories that were put up years ago and don't have this much attention. I promise that I will get into the battle next update, swear to Abraham Lincoln, but I wanted to go deeper into Bubblegum and Marceline's past, present, and future. Oh, and by the way . . .

THIS IS THE COOLEST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED, AND IT IS ALL THANKS TO YOU, MY MNARVELOUS READERS. THANK YOU ALL SO VERY, VERY MUCH! YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!

**Beginning and the End-** Glad you're still reading, I promise to keep up the tempo.

**Team Fang-** The gender-bending episode was one of the most highly acclaimed episodes on the show. I had to use it somewhere. I think the potential for differentiation between the stories, based on gender alone, makes it fascinating.

**Pjmunky-** Gotta love Marshal Lee. Natasha Allegri drew a gender swap for Flame Princess, but has yet to (publically) do anything with it. I wanted to beat her to the punch. ^_^

**Motherbirdnerd-** I like the idea that some of the princesses (princes) have actual names, not just species-oriented titles (Slime Princess, Hotdog Princess, and so on).

**Lord Xantos A. Fowl- **What, you didn't like Spearmint Butleress? ^_^ As for Cake, she does have the same powers as Jake, but they never indulge where her powers come from.

**Dragonbornmatt-**I wanted to make sure that the story was a satisfying read for people who wanted love and action. Like me!

**Writer of Epics-** I wish I could put a clip of a song at the head of each chapter, to suggest people listen to a song on repeat while reading. Because yes, this is friggin' WAR, and I think I came up with a clever way to handle the Ice Queen.

**Aquayzar777-** Good to see you, it's been awhile! Glad you liked it. ^_^

**Norkix- **I wanted to make it as canon as I could, because there's nothing I like less than stories that throw the creator's world off its axis. This is FAN-fiction, for glob's sake. Anyway  
>1) Yes, and while it would be weird for a 1000 year old vampire to be warm for a 14yr old human, when he hits eighteen, well, he'd be somewhat more tasty, yeah?<br>2) Yeah, his official name is Marshall Lee. Which kind of makes sense, because the names Marshall and Marceline are both Greek derivatives of the god Mars.

**Sunshine loving devil-** Thanks for dropping me a PM, here's your update. ^_^

**Alphakitty-** Glad you like it . . . as for Marshall Lee Fionna, you'll have to wait and see. In a world where the hero is the girl, surrounded by hormone-driven princes that she saves on a regular basis, she's bound to have _MANY_ suitors.

**Xanbyr-** Glad you like it. First of all, as Fionna is a female (obviously) she's not going to be a pursuant, as Finn would be. Boys are psychologically more aggressive than girls, especially in regards to hormones. Second, while Flame Princess may be an impulsive but ultimately serene figure, I can't help but imagine the Flame Prince as more of a "British Punk Rock" sort of character, much more aggressive and standoff-ish (somewhat Prince Zuko-ish). Third, out of all the princes (except, perhaps, Jungle Prince), I could see him declaring Fionna as _HIS _woman, which would torque her off.

**Chabitso.0- **I once read a philosopher who believed that the greatest inspirations that came to writers were actually parallel dimensions that briefly touched his mind. I figure, "Hell, Ice King is NUTS, the land of Aaa could be an actual place he sees with his Stanky Wizard Eyes."

**Devilindistress-** Glad you like it. I can't say there is going to be a lot of Aaa, but at least one more chapter.

**Demonbloodfeeder-** Being as Flame Princess spends most of her time in a lamp-like prison to keep her subjects from being turned into flambits, I think that Marceline would have seen her in the palace, but not really talked to her.

**ButtercupBash- **I can see your logic, but here's mine.  
>1) She white-washed them both, not just yelled. I think that throwing cold water on their posturing was a much more effective thing to do.<br>2) Fionna is, while certainly as much a fighter as Finn, more intelligent in her approach. We see a lot of Finn blindly throwing himself into his fights, while Fionna seems somewhat more logical in her general approaches.  
>3) Fionna is kind of girly, she's a girl. I don't think that any of the gender flips would be entirely mirror images. Consider the Ice KingQueen: Ice King is very blunt in his magic, always throwing ice bolts and summoning ice beasts. Ice Queen drew a slush beast around herself to double as a defensive shield, and she also waged psychological warfare on Fionna using her crush as a weapon. Ice King is, by his own admission, too far gone to be a strategic thinker.

**IceEagle9- **Glad you like it. I know my grammar and prose isn't textbook flawless, I've always favored writing in the style of natural dialogue, rather than by the rules.

**Bigredfox-** Glad you're enjoying it. ^_^

**Nico Ricafrente-** Some people would think of that as twincest. Seems more like self-love to me . . .

**Ray-the-1st-** Glad you're enjoying the story, I hope you'll stick around. ^_^

**Gold Testament- **Stay tuned, it's only going to get freakier.


	8. The Stones of Infinis Part II

"Who the jug are you?" The simple phrase exploded from the mouths of Marshal Lee and Prince Rubicund with lightning quickness, their voices pinched with alarm. The young boy was obviously a fan, dressed in nearly the same outfit as the heroine of Aaa, with a few more masculine changes; not one of the candy people, his skin was fleshy and pink, almost human looking.

Marshall spoke first, "I don't recognize you as candy kingdom. Are you one of Sampson's fish people?"

"Naw," Rubicund said with a snort, "They're afraid of their own shadows."

"Actually I'm human," he chuckled and extended his hand, "Name's Finn. This is my brother, Jake."

"Human?" Fionna's voice was the loudest of them, "You're . . . human, like me?"

The Flame Prince's aura flared brightly at the perceived threat. "Not likely, probably just some rabid fanboy; get lost, kid."Rubicund grabbed a handful of Finn's bear hood and jerked it away.

Luxurious blond hair spilled out from the white hood, glimmering like spun gold in the stark blue expanse of the frozen plains. Finn brushed it back from his face, unintentionally exposing the lack of gills on his pink-hued neck. "Hey, not cool, donkus." Finn jerked the hood back.

"See? He's human." Jake formed a large pointing finger from his side and gestured with it toward his adopted brother, "No gills, candy stripes, or animal parts."

A genuine human was, arguably, the worst thing that could happen. Fionna had always been prone to wax somberly philosophical about her being the last human on Aaa, and while Sampson's species remained undetermined, his relatively child-like mentality and advanced age prevented him from being a potential romantic interest. But this boy, dressed like her, smug and self-assured like her, blue eyes gleaming fiercely with a thirst for adventure. The two would-be suitors exchanged troubled glances.

Fionna's eyes were star struck wide, "An actual human? Oh my GLOB!" She grabbed his hand and shook it rigorously, "M-my name's Fionna! This is my sister, Cake."

Cake smiled warmly, "How you doin', handsome?"

Another powerful ice blast splashed across their hidey-hole, followed by the grating laughter of the Ice Queen. "Still there, bunny girl? Or have you decided to take the smart way out and flee?"

Fionna growled in a feral way, "Cake, mace form." The cat complied by morphing her body into that of a great spiked ball. Fionna grasped her furry tail and drew her up by it, spinning her at deadly speed, "I am going to pound that nasty witch so hard that-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Finn laid a hand on Fionna's shoulder. "With the stones of Infinis, she's too powerful; if we go at her, we'll get all jacked up. Like I said before, I have an idea." He smirked deviously, "But I need to borrow your sister."

* * *

><p>Ice Queen drummed her foot impatiently on the glacial ground, "Come on, come on, I don't got all day." She blasted the heroes' hiding place with another ice blast, "I got me a harem of princes to play with."<p>

"Not so fast, Ice Queen!" With a furious war cry, the warrior flew at her, her blistering snow blasts ineffective against the golden furs he wore. He cleaved at her with his blood red sword, forcing her to duck with a screech, narrowly avoiding being decapitated. She slid away, flying to her feet as the warrior came about. The hood of his fur cloak fell back revealing an unruly mane of golden hair. "You have plagued these lands too long, so prepare to be routed."

"Who the math are you?" The Ice Queen stroked her chin, smiling, "Not someone I've seen before. Are you one of Sampson's fish people?"

Another gust of icy wind sent the swordsman's hair writhing, revealing a lack of gills. "I am Prince Finn, of the humans."

"A human prince?" This piqued the Ice Queen's interest, "I thought Fionna was the last."

"The last female," the prince amended. "I cannot stand by and let you attack her; stand down."

"I suppose I could, or," she gestured, and the ice surged up around him. It immobilized him up to his shoulders, leaving the hand holding the sword open and immobile. She drew him closer, his cape flapping around the edges of his icy prison as he was brought eye-to-eye with the powerful magic user. "I could add you to my collection of frozen suitors. Hmm, yes . . . I could see you sitting right between Wild prince and Prince Gumball, you and your pretty red sword. What do you say to that?"

The prince smiled, "I say . . . NOW!"

"R-r-r-r-rawr!" The fur cloak's clasp unsnapped, stretching out with curved claws. The Ice Queen shrieked in rage and surprise as Cake broke from her disguise as Finn's cloak, leaping on her. At the same time, Jake surged upward from the ice prison, barking furiously. Each of the shape-shifting animals grasped one of the stones of Infinis, tearing it away from the witch's robe as they dashed in opposite directions.

"No! No, my magic stones!"

Finn smirked and activated the magic of the demon blood sword, allowing its powerful flame magic to liquefy his frosty prison.

As the witch turned back toward him, snarling fiercely at the beasts who had stolen her stones of power, she was quite surprised when Fionna's golden sword came up to her face. "Surrender, you frosty blue hag."

The witch howled furiously in disappointment, crossing her arms like a petulant child. "Glob Grod Glod Grob . . . what choice do I have?"

Jake and Finn high-fived each other, the young hero elated to feel the weight of the two magic gemstones in his bag. _Soon, Princess Vermillion, soon I will return to you._

* * *

><p>Following a lengthy de-thawing process, sped up greatly with the aid of Prince Rubicund, by the time the sun had begun to set over the land of Aaa a great feast had begun in the Candy Kingdom. Prince Gumball, greatly pleased at his liberation but none too pleased about the amount of unsupervised time Fionna spent with Marshall and Rubicund, had commanded the candy people to assemble a great feast to celebrate the heroic efforts of Fionna the Human, her sister Cake, and the newcomers, Finn and Jake.<p>

Surrounded by the throng of party-goers, Prince Gumball had no trouble separating Finn and Jake from each other and the rest of the crowd. Once Finn had stepped out onto the balcony, the candy prince approached him. "I cannot thank you enough for your heroism," he said in his practiced fashion.

"No big deal," Finn smiled and sipped his drink, "It's what I do. I'm super good, yo."

Fionna had said the same when confronting Marshall Lee's mother, the queen of the Nightosphere, shortly before saving all of Aaa from her thirst for souls. "Indeed, and it must be good to encounter another human, like Fionna, I imagine? Tell me," he said in his best 'innocent question' tone, "Are there . . . many humans where you come from?"

"Not that I've seen." Finn darkened a little, "I think I'm the only human, where I come from."

"Then Fionna must represent something very profound to you." Gumball started to become nervous. Surely his nobility, civility, and intellect made him a clear superior choice to the likes of the Flame Prince and Marshall Lee, but sharing a species had connotations that the brilliant prince could not counter.

"Sure, it's cool to meet another human." Finn shrugged, completely missing Gumball's sudden clutch of apprehension, "But it's not like I'm just gonna move in here, I have obligations back where I come from." _Like Princess Vera . . ._

Gumball visibly relaxed; glancing toward the nearby archway, he could see Rubicund and Marshall listening in, similar expressions on their faces. "Well, if there is anything my kingdom can do to help, you need only ask."

"Thanks, Prince Gumball," Finn shook his hand, "I'll be sure to keep that in mind." He excused himself, making his way back into the main room.

"Fionna, surely you prefer chocolate!"

"Stupid bean, Fionna warrior. Warrior need meat!"

Finn emerged from the throng to find Fionna, surrounded by several princes. Each one of them was struggling to offer the human girl a gift, but she seemed unwilling to accept any of their offerings, not that it deterred them. "Come on guys, seriously, I don't want anything from you!"

The human boy whistled, causing Jake to come to him quickly, led by keen canine ears. "What's up, buddy?"

Finn gestured up to the chandelier, "I think she needs some help, you follow me?"

"Loud and clear." Chuckling, Jake's arms stretched upward, grasping onto the metal ring that the chandelier hung from. "Grab onto my back and make like a monkey!"

Jake's arms twanged like rubber bands as the pair was launched into the air. "Fionna!" Finn shouted as he swung down toward her, "Need a lift?" The bunny girl extended an arm upward and he grabbed her hand, jerking her into the air as the trio flew through the room and out a nearby window, laughing the entire way.

Back inside the room, Marshall exchanged glances with Gumball and Rubicund; the human, Finn, couldn't leave soon enough. The majority of the princes were minor annoyances, many of them not even humanoid enough to possess compatible physiology. But another human was too much of a threat to their intentions.

* * *

><p>The candy castle behind them, the two humans and the magic dog were enjoying a leisurely walk through the grasslands. "Thanks so much," Fionna brushed an errant lock of golden hair from her face, "You guys totally saved my butt back there."<p>

"No big," Finn said with a smile, "You seemed really uncomfortable there."

"Totally WAS." The bunny-hooded girl sighed in irritation, "I just turned fifteen, and it seems like all the princes want to do is try and give me stuff. SO not interested."

"Don't be too hard on it," Finn kept his gaze ahead as they walked. "At least they want your attention. Anyway," he quickly changed the subject, "I just wanted a chance to say goodbye."

"Goodbye?" Fionna was mortified, "You can't go yet! We should go on an adventure, or watch a movie on V-Mo back at my tree house!" She grab bed his hand, "You're the first human I have ever met, you can't just leave!"

"That sounds wicked math," Finn said with a laugh, "But unfortunately, I have to leave."

"He's right, you know," a warbling, sing-song voice chimed in, "It's time for him to go." The trio turned to face Choose Goose, sitting behind the bench of his marketplace stand. "To the land of Ooo he must once more go, for he still has much to do, dontcha know."

"I don't understand," Fionna's face was sad and confused, "What's an 'Ooo'?"

"Allow me to explain," the goose poured the trio some juice, "I wouldn't want you to strain your brains."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note:<strong>_ Wow, okay, this took longer than I had intended to update. So sorry for the wait, y'all, it's been hectic over here. But now, as we approach the home stretch of the story, it's becoming imperative that I wrap it up. In two weeks, the next Flame princess episode will air, and if I can finish this story before then, I can retain most of my canon. So that's my goal.

A big thanks to all my readers, reviewers, and those who PM'd me with their questions and comments. I always love to hear about how much you're enjoying my story. To anyone who anonymously reviews, I wish you'd leave a name. I can't reply to you if you don't.

And as always; if you read, please review. If you review, thanks for showing some love. ^_^

**Sora Tayuya:** Nope, LSP is a creature of gossip and attitude. How can you not love that? Her major role comes up in the next installment.

**Zero kiryu is all mine:** Don't even get me started on that whole "No proper reward for the hero" thing, I have major issues after Mario and Link. Speaking of, I still have a story to write about how Link gets fed up with Zelda and quits. Must write that soon.

**Renjama:** Glad you liked the PB & Marcie part, I really wanted to address the whole "their history" thing. Glad you enjoy the story, I hope to keep you interested to the end.

**Lucia Liddell:** No hiatus for this story. I quit writing in all my others until this one is done.

**Andjuzane:** Thanks so much for the praise, I'm glad you like the story. I wanted to preserve as much of the canon as possible. I hate it when stories go completely out of touch with the actual characters and the feel of the story. I wanted this whole thing to stay true to the format.

**Thejugglerofflames:** I wish I could have made the Aaa saga longer, but I think that it has to be short in order to stay with Finn's quest. I have another Adventure Time story on the drawing board, with much more Aaa content.

**Too lazy to log in yo:** Totally didn't mean to call Prince Gumball, Bubblegum, totally missed that. Sorry. As for Marcie & Bonni, yes, they were kinda lezzi for each other (in my story). There was some buzz on the Frederator blog about possible bi-sexual past relations with them, and the release of this comment got someone fired from the Adventure Time team, so I wanted to expand a little on the idea. Personally, I like the idea of them having some torrid past fling, makes them more tangible.

**Dragrako the Weaver:** That's high praise! I don't know if I am better than the storywriters, but I sure wish I could work with them. I see this story as my chance to bring forward the characters and tell the back stories for them as I imagine or see them. And yes, the Ice King's back story is canon. Poor Simon Petrovich.

**ItsComplicatedOkay: **Glad you're enjoying it. We're nearing the climax of the story, so hold on to your pants!

**Yult15:** I also love the Divine Comedy. I have an original copy (in German).

**Demonbloodfeeder:** Sweet, I'm glad to keep you hooked.

**OrangeSkye2772:** ERMAGERD FERN LERV. EHRSERM. ^_^

**AN:** Thanks! I try very hard to be epic. I think it's an awesome way to be.

**The One Who Reads Too Much:** You can read this chapter, and the next one, and etcetera. Or you can read any of my other stories. Or other Adventure Time stories; they may not be as cool as mine ( ^_^ ) but very cool.

**Samura1Writr:** Glad you like it. ^_^

**Bigredfox10:** As you wished, here is your update.

**Steelghozt:** My inspiration for that whole exchange? Well, I remember hearing that Frederator fired one of their online bloggers for hinting at a possible intimate relationship between Bubblegum and Marceline, so I decided to run with that.

**Writer of Epics:** It's going to get crazy soon, stay tuned.

**Mangoisme: **Glad you like it, please do tell your friends. As for your wall of words, no big, I love big reviews.

**Gold Testament:** Dude, everybody loves a hero.

**Thephoenixblade:** You don't have to like my story, but I appreciate you being courteous enough to not slap some big flame on my reviews page. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. ^_^

**IceEagle9:** Lots and lots of feathers. Trust me.

**GreyWardenMan37:** Amen to that.

**Sunshine loving devil:** I'm glad you're still here to enjoy it.

**Lord Xantos A. Fowl:** No, no they don't. I'm sure, if they ever go into it, it will be magic catnip or something.

**dragonbornmatt: **Glad you're sticking it out. And no big, I like replying to the comments and whatnot.

**AllyJackson:** I'm glad their characters are believable. My biggest concern has always been keeping them in character.

**Motherbirdnerd:** Glad to bring you some sunshine. I see a lot of people hand pick somereviews to reply to, so I figured I should reply to them all. I want people to reply, so if they take the time, I think they deserve some love. Besides, you're one of my longest repliers, you should get tenure.

**Beginning of the End:** I wanted to add a little tension and darkness, but not too much. I like when things get just a wee angst-y.

**Iron Reprieve:** I don't assume that everyone's going to read my stuff. Honestly, most of my things never get read, so this is a pleasant surprise. Besides, assuming that I'm some kind of FanFiction God seems . . . presumptuous. ^_^ I just want people to like my stuff.

**Chabitso.0: **Oh. My. Glob. Srsly gurl!


	9. The Courting of a Hero

Choose Goose assumed his usual position, sitting cross-legged on the table top in his booth. "Fionna the human, resides in Aaa, while Finn hearkens from Ooo; heroes both, rescuing royalty, from magicians of blue. Both reside in a tree house, in the grassland's verdant plain. Both raised in houses not your own, destined to lay low swain."

Finn and Fionna looked at each other, then turned their blank stares at Choose Goose. Finn spoke first, "Say . . . what now?"

"Pardon my chagrin, let me start again." Choose Goose rolled his eyes at the mild annoyance. "Behold the children of white hood, with mane flaxen and free. They brandish sword and sorcery to save the royalty."

The blank stares continued. Fionna scratched her head, "I just . . . I don't . . ."

Finn nodded, "Yeah, still not following you."

"Glob save me." Choose Goose sighed and face-palmed. "Okay, look. Finn is from a place called Ooo and Fionna is from a place called Aaa; they're parallel realms, connected by the spirit world. The major difference between them is that the genders are reversed, which created a myriad of changes in how situations were handled. Do you get it now?!"

"Yeah, sure man, we got it." Finn rushed to calm the agitated gander.

"Yup, clear as a bell." Fionna vehemently agreed.

"Alright then." Choose Goose adjusted his crouched stance, "This business is concluded, and none too soon. As guardian of the gate, it is my duty to keep these realms clearly defined. Bringing Finn across . . . is more than I can handle in the long term. You have the stones?"

"You got it, CG." Finn patted his bag, "The stones of Infinis are safe with me."

"Then without further ado, let us fly back to Ooo." Choose Goose opened his shirt again, revealing the swirling vortex of the black hole. "Do not tarry through the gates, Princess Vermilion awaits."

Fionna noticed the warm blush that colored Finn's cheeks at the mention of the princess. Silently, she wondered if Marshal ever blushed when her name was mentioned, or Gumball. The princes hounded her, drove her insane with their constant attention seeking; at least with Rubicund, Gumball, and Marshal she could just hang out. That is, when they weren't trying to one-up each other over her. But what would it be like with someone like Finn? Someone who simply, genuinely, became happier just by thinking about her?

Finn turned to Fionna, "It's been algebraic to meet you."

"Completely logarithmic." She hugged her male doppelganger fiercely. "If you ever have the chance to come back . . ."

"I'll be here as fast as the Ice King is lame."

"A male version of the Ice Queen," Fionna smirked cutely around her overbite, "Yoiks."

"Word." With a smirk, Finn stepped backward, his form distorting erratically as he was drawn into the blackness.

Jake fumbled with his words for a moment. "Ya know, I'm not normally a cat person . . ."

"She grows on you," Fionna said with a warm laugh, "whether you want her to or not."

"You babes are alright." Jake was gone, drawn into the vortex.

The swirling mish-mash of black and grey dwindled and disappeared, leaving Fionna alone in the small encampment where the knights gathered during the day. When she thought about Finn, she felt a strange mixture of enrichment for knowing him, and emptiness where he had been moments before.

* * *

><p>As they emerged from the blackness of the portal, the cool moonlight of Ooo blinded them. As they took it all in; the lush green of the grasslands, the gentle scent of sweetness on the winds, the fact that there was another world like theirs was awe-inspiring. That there were gender-reversed versions of themselves and everyone they knew. Finn found himself staring at the spot where he knew, somewhere, Fionna was standing at that very instant. Was she staring at the spot where he was standing? What was she thinking about?<p>

"Hey Finn!" Jake's shout broke him from his reverie, "Let's get going. You have a princess to get."

Finn smiled warmly at the phantom image of Fionna in his mind, "Yes, yes I do." He turned toward his brother, "Vermillion is waiting for me. Let's go."

The magic stones in hand, the brothers made like the wind. They ran through the night, driven forward by the impending completion of their long sought goal, knowing that soon their journey would end. Jake couldn't help but draw a warm sense of accomplishment from the expression of joy that his brother wore; although the courtship of the flame princess had started on shaky premise, it had grown and would bear fruit.

The sun rose over Ooo, revealing the promise of a new and better day for the hero boy named Finn.

As the pair crossed the border of the Candy Kingdom and prepared to turn southward, they came upon an encampment that barred their way. A series of wagons and tents had been placed in the road, like a makeshift blockade, preventing their passage. "What the nuts is this?" Finn said as he came to a halt, perplexed by the strange little shanty town.

"Nothing to be bothered with, trust me bro." Jake's fist swelled to giant proportions as he reached forward, knocking on a tent flap. "Hey, move this thing, man!" Jake made his voice gruff, "This is a public thoroughfare and I don't think Princess Bubblegum would appreciate you blocking it up!"

"I don't think that anyone needs to worry about that." The tent flap was pushed aside, "I have exclusive permission." Dressed in a shapely mauve dress adorned with rock candy sequins, her cherry hair drawn up in a sporty new style, Bonnibel Bubblegum emerged from the canvas structure. "Hello boys. It seems you've been up to quite the adventure."

"Oh my glob, Peebles?" Finn was shocked by her appearance, "You look great! What're you dressed up for? Wait, what are you doing here?"

"We're waiting for you, hero." Emerging from the second tent was Marceline, her familiar axe bass in hand. Normally entrenched in the punk rock girl demeanor, she had stepped out of her comfort zone by dressing in a purple shoulder-less top and black skirt, making the unnatural pallor of her blue-tinted skin seem all the more vibrant in comparison. Her black hair, often rebellious and appearing to possess a life of its own, now curled submissively around her like a mantle of liquid shadow. The Marceline he saw now was not the capricious musician, but the revered and respected Vampire Queen herself. "It's not polite to make a lady wait."

"Wow, Marcie, you look great!" Finn's comment prompted a brief exchange of glances between the two girls. "So what's the deal? Is the Ice King up to his usual junk, or what?"

"No, Finn the Human," Bonnibel Bubblegum approached him, "This is a much more serious matter." She brought forward a crimson shroud of the finest woven cotton candy, which was wrapped around a polished sword of enspelled crystalline sugar. "I have come to offer you a position as Sovereign Knight of the Candy Kingdom."

"What?" Finn and Jake's voices were pinched and exaggeratedly loud.

"While you have always been a hero to all of Ooo, this would mean that your responsibility would be to the Candy Kingdom, and to me directly as your Queen. This would make you minor royalty, with the Grasslands serving as your fiefdom; this would also mean that, given your court status, you would be in a position to conduct a proper courtship."

"Courtship?" Finn's voice tightened slightly.

Marceline's mouth twitched, sensing the tension, although as she swept forward she seemed to part it like a veil. The entirety of her elegant, sultry demeanor seemed to drape around her and Finn, isolating them from the rest of the world. "You remember when you first asked me about taking that walk on the wild side? What do you say we take it?" She floated around him, dark and alluring. "Flying through the night air, running with the wolves, an eternity to explore all of Ooo; why, with so much time and power at a person's disposal, even a lowly hero could someday become as great as the Vampire King."

"King?!" Jake's face had to elongate to twice its law length to convey the amount of shock he felt.

Bubblegum moved forward, the sword clutched in her hands. The tone of her voice and expression was as confident and neutral as always, but her eyes held the slightest hint of something; perhaps desperation, or insecurity. Marceline held her position at his side, eyes strangely vulnerable. "So, Finn the Human, what will you say?"

"Wait . . ." Finn swallowed thickly, overwhelmed, "Are you guys asking me t-"

"Hold it rah lumpin' thar!" The slightly misshapen words, as if formed by a swollen tongue, belonged to the Lumpy Space Princess herself. Her unmistakable, lumpy form strode purposefully through the small road block of tents. "ERMAGLERB! AH AM NOT GUNNA LET YOU GET A-LUMPIN-WAY WITH THAS!"

"Holy cow, LSP!" Finn had never been so happy to see the gossipy drama queen. "This is crazy! What the heck is going on?"

"AH'LL TELL YEH WHAT'S LUMPIN' GOIN' AHN!" The floating princess' brow was furrowed like an angry storm. "AH LUMPIN' HEARD BUBBLEGUM AND MARCELINE GOIN' ON ABOUT HOW THERY WERE GONNA MAKE THEIR MOVE, AND I WAS ALL LIKE 'NO LUMPIN' WAY'!" She jabbed Princess Bubblegum in the chest with one spongy finger, "YOU DON'T GET TO KEEP HIM ALL TO YOURSELF; FINN 'S, LIKE, EVERYONE'S HERO. SAH IF YOU GET TAH MAKE YOUR MOVE, PRINCESS BUBBLEGUM, SO DOES EVERY-LUMPIN'-BODY ELSE."

Emerging amidst a jumbled sea of murmurs, broken speech, and a smattering of movement, the various Princesses of Ooo entered the encampment. The foodstuff nobilities came bearing foods, the smell intermingling with their own sweet scents, while the humanoid princesses were freshly groomed and graceful. Even the construct princesses had been made over, from Engagement Ring Princess' polish and shine, to Raggedy Princess' new bows. All of Ooo's royalty was circling like sharks.

"Hey Finn!"

"I lOvE yOu, FiNn."

"Umm . . . Finn . . ."

"Hi Finn."

" . . . Finn . . . "

"FINN!"

"Finn . . ."

As the crowd of princesses moved in, Jake found himself backed up against his brother. Finn was struggling to get a word out, but the clamour was too intense. Muscle Princess and Princess Princess Princess were actually throwing other princesses out of their way to reach the young hero. "Finn, Finn, what're we going to do?!"

"I don't know, man, I don't know!" Orange Princess' burnt sienna colored arm emerged through the crowd and touched Finn lightly, before it was smacked to the side by Jungle Princess.

"No touch Finn, he MINE!"

"The jug he is!"

"Finn!" Princess Bubblegum struggled to get closer to him, only to be dragged to the side by Embryo Princess' psychic energy.

A hand grabbed a hold of Jake, "Brother, we are never going to get to Flame Princess at this rate."

Vermilion's voice came to him. _You . . . would defy fate for me?_ That awe struck, soulful gleam in her starry eyes and the weight of the Stones of Infinis in his bag galvanized him. The quest was not yet over. "Jake, grappling hook!" Without waiting to see if Jake understood, Finn grabbed his brother's arm and threw him over the crowd of princesses. The dog howled in surprise before launching an arm out and grabbing a tree, then launching a second to grab Finn.

Jake reeled his brother in, jerking him over the crushing group and bringing him to temporary safety beyond their mass. "Great idea, bro, now what?"

"We run." Mounting Jake, the pair made haste toward the border of the Flame Kingdom. On their heels, the furious army of princesses followed.

Behind the throng, Bubblegum and Marceline exchanged frustrated glances. This had spiraled out of control.

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><p><em><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>_ The crap has officially hit the fan! Okay, so I didn't make it to completion before Burning Low was released, but who cares? I'm not watching it; I've already lost my canon status (besides, the whole "unstable elemental matrix thing" with FP is BS). So I'll have to update my AU listing for this story on my profile page. Anyway . . . we're almost to the end of the roller coaster and I want to really thank all my readers & reviewers who have propelled me through this story.

You guys are the real heroes. ^_^

**13shiroyami:** Thank you; there are a lot of good stories on , so I consider that high praise.

**Allen:** I was having a hard time rhyming when I wrote the explanation, so I decided to have him just lose his temper and do one of those moments where he just spits out clear English.

**Ze red spy:** Glad you caught up before we crossed the finish line.

**DallasHead:** Actually, I am going to skip on watching Burning Low until I complete the story. The story was originally supposed to happen between the introduction of the flame princess and end in time for Burning Low to happen after the story's conclusion.

**Verbena2000:** Well thanks very much, I'm always happy to know that I've made another reader happy.

**DH88:** Algebraic!

**Mijumaruwott:** I hope this didn't disappoint!

**ThatRandomReview:** Not soon enough, but I'm doing my best. ^_^

**Laugh-out-loud94:** Personally, I can't believe that the writers never made use of the Flame Shield spell! I felt like there was a glaring plot hole.

**Bigredfox10:** Fortunately for them, Finn's got a mission that will make him leave before they can get too jealous . . . _THIS_ time. *wicked laugh*

**Sunshine loving devil:** I always look forward to your PMs.

**Dragonbornmatt:** I hope to keep my velocity and momentum up to the very end.

**Kira is watching you:** Yeah, I totally failed there. ^_^

**Sora Tayuya:** Yeah, I really feel that the gender reversal has much further reaching impact than many really think.

**Jake the Dog:** Thank you very much, character continuity is my most important value to good to hear from you! Say hi to Shelby for me and let's play violas again soon! And I will throw down with you on card Wars anytime, any place.

**Iron Reprieve:** haha, I love puns. I really dislike how many people look down on FanFiction, it's harder to write in someone else's character's head than in one you made yourself. At least, I think so.

**Shadow Incarnate:** Thanks! I never heard anything about Susan Strong's male version, so I err'd on the side of Greek Mythology.

**The FanficReader:** No big, I'm glad my story has kept you so entertained. ^_^ I like the short chapters, personally, they remind me of the episodes.

**IwasBordaRainicorn:** I'm glad you're liking the story. I felt that the three prime suitors would have to ally against Finn, recognizing him as the greatest potential threat. And I don't know, maybe I do go higher and farther than the writers; I've never thought about it, I just love the characters and having the chance to write about them, and that so many people like what I have to write about them.

**Snixpergers:** I had to do a little of Finn & Fionna crushing on each other, it's too cute to not.

**Luvvs2dream:** Top Secret, don't tell anyone. ^_^ But I have another story that will come to Aaa & Ooo, so there will be some more. Aside from that . . . I hadn't given it much thought. There seem to be a lot of Aaa-verse stories, but they seem to be carbon copies of the normal universe.

**SketchSword:** Good. ^_^ Glad you're pleased.

**Norkix:** I don't think they ever actually give the sword any powers, per se, but since it's demonic and Finn has a fire affinity, I figured it should manifest something. Given the flaming appearance and disappearance of the demon whose blood made the sword, I figured fire was a classic good choice.

**Writer of Epics:** I've yet to decide what to do with FP yet, honestly.

**Motherbirdnerd:** Just a small trip to Aaa. This time, anyway . . .

**Runefact:** You're welcome. ^_^

**Beginning and the End: **Naw, this story is too good to be left incomplete. It has a massive following, so I could never leave it to limbo. That'd be cruel.


	10. While Finn is Away: Vermillion Embers

_**EDITED 12/8/12:** Sorry for the false alarm guys, The23rd Student pointed out a critical error that needed to be fixed. Thanks for the assist! I'm working on the next chapter as we speak, so look for it tomorrow or Monday.  
><em>

* * *

><p><em>It will be better this way<em>, the princess told herself as she fled, leaving a trail of smoldering footprints as she retreated across the grasslands and back toward the Flame Kingdom. Finn would be free to find someone of his own kind, one who would not burn his tender flesh with the barest touch. Likewise, she would return to her lamp glass prison until her father found a fitting suitor for her. It was how things were meant to be. Vermillion clutched at her chest with a hand that trembled slightly, "Then why does the thought fill me with such a terrible chill?" She asked no one in particular, and of course, was rewarded no reply.

The Flame Princess slowly walked home, retracing steps she had taken only a day before. The path of her sooty footprints remained clear against the starry sky, leading her back towards Finn's tree house, where everything had become so confusing. She had come there to confront the Grassland's prince who had spurned her, only to discover that it was the jester who had wooed in the prince's stead. Amazing how all her fire and fury could be so easily smothered by the impish grin of a boy; the Flame Princess, viewed as a rampant force of destruction and chaos on par with the Lich by her own father, in love with a water elemental. Ridiculous.

As she approached the gates to the palace, the two flame guards snapped to attention. "Welcome back, Flame Princess," the left-hand guard smiled nervously. "How was your trip to the Grasslands?"

With a vicious snarl, the princess unleashed a rippling surge of flame that overtook the guard before he could make a sound. The guard erupted with a 'fwoosh', collapsing into a pile of confused flambits. "You!" She shrieked as she whirled around, pointing one flaming hand at the other guard, who promptly yelped like a small child and smogged himself, a cloud of sooty ash billowing out of his trousers. The outburst of anger failed to break her dour mood, so the flames around her outstretched hand fizzled out. "Tell them to prepare my lantern." He immediately bolted inside to do as she had instructed, leaving her to skulk inside after him.

* * *

><p>As he had done so many times before, the Flame King looked up at his daughter, sealed within her lamp-like prison. When the crystalline bulb had first been fashioned, it was out of safety for his subjects; as an ember, the princess' massive power had raged uncontrollably, randomly blasting whoever was unfortunate enough to make the child cry, or laugh, or occasionally feed her something that made her gassy. When the queen herself had been exploded by Vermillion's still growing power, the king had paid the Earth Sheikh of the Desert Kingdom to construct a fire-proof prison to contain her. She had spent her entire life within that enchanted glass, watching the court's activities and learning to master the vast reservoir of her elemental might.<p>

But since her return four days prior, she had done nothing but lie in her lamp and sulk; she would barely speak, refusing to consume the richest coal or purest ethanol. The vibrant reds and oranges of her hair and skin had faded into withered shadows of their former luster, as if whatever had happened between her and Prince Finn was killing her, not that she would tell him anything. Every time he asked her what had transpired, she would merely say 'nothing' and turn away, while repeated inquiries would only make her fling a fireball at the glass, momentarily creating a barrier of flame between them. _What happened to you, Little Vera?_ The fiery figure wondered silently.

"Presenting!" The Flame King's chancellor entered the throne room, followed closely by a multi-hued man composed of different crystal formations. "A messenger from the Desert Kingdom wishes to approach the throne!"

"Come forward, messenger." The Flame King waved him forward idly, his mind still distracted by the sad state of his daughter. "What tidings do you bring from our sibling nation?"

The messenger stepped up to the foot of the throne, the roaring fires reflecting colorful hues across his surface. He withdrew a purple crystal from his coat and held it forward, projecting a hologram of the Earth Sheikh himself. The stone man smiled, "Greetings to you, King Volcanus, how go the days?"

"They go, King Ferron, they go." the king sighed, "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"My third son, Prince Cobalt," the earth king chuckled, "He is coming of age, and wishes that you and Princess Vermillion would attend the festivities!"

The king's attention perked up; perhaps if he could redirect his daughter's attention from Prince Finn, to someone more deserving of her elemental beauty. "A grand idea!" The king rose and swept his arms out in a welcoming expression , "In fact, I would be honored to hold the festivities here, in my domain. It has been too long since the sounds of merriment echoed in these halls."

"A splendid idea!" The Earth Sheikh clapped his hands, "We shall arrive in three days time."

"I shall have everything prepared."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong> Okay, I admit this is short. But my goal was to find a way to get a message out to the readers, so this short lead in will do nicely. THE STORY IS NOT DEAD! I swear to you all, it still lives! I apologize for the time lapse in updates; between my new job, school, and family, I've been over my head. Fortunately, the quarter ends in two weeks, so I am going to try and finish the story over Christmas Break.

So, I've been getting a lot of review comments and PMs about people wondering what Flame Princess has been up to while Finn is out questing. Surely, she isn't just sitting in her lamp? Well guys, heuristically, that's what every princess everywhere does (barring a few Disney exemptions). Princesses have this tendency, especially in Ooo, when trouble rises they sit back and wait for the hero to swoop in and rescue them; hence the Ice King, the Lich, the Destiny Gang, and pretty much every villain in the series.

However, I found this beautiful picture on Tumblr, so I decided to write a few side chapters about what Vermillion has been up to in Finn's absence. Google "Flame Princess, Steampunk, Micaella", and you'll understand. So I figured I'd do something so that, when Finn comes running in with an army of Princesses on his heels, she's not still sulking in her lamp.

**DubbleDuelSword**: Drama bomb indeed. I have been waiting the entire story to make LSP say ERHMAGLERB!

**TheFanficReader:** Yeah, just imagine what's going to happen in the Flame Kingdom when Finn and Jake come running, followed by an army of Ooo royalty.

**Laugh-out-loud:** We're almost to the big collision between Finn and Vermillion. Stay tuned. ^_^

**Motherbirdnerd:** Glad you liked logarithmic! I wanted something new and math-themed to use, so I dug out my trigonometry textbook. I _**wish**_ I could write for the show, that'd be so friggin' math.

**IlikeKorn:** While I can't say this story is almost over, I can say that there is a sequel int eh works. ^_^

**Dragonbornmatt:** No, the reason I have so many reviews is because of devoted readers like you. I can't say it enough, but thank you, all of you. ^_^

**Name torment3:** Life thinks I shouldn't write so much, but I think life needs to STFU. I wish I had more free time to write, but since I got bills to pay . . .

**DH88:** Glad you approve, I hope to keep my stride to the end.

**Power of Frost:** Quite simply, I think that this is an inevitable series of events to happen in the series. All of Ooo relies on Finn to be their hero, because apparently all their own forces are complete jokes (see the hotdog knights, the banana fosters guards, and so on). If he were to be primarily loyal to any one throne, he wouldn't be available to all the kingdoms in the event of an ice King abduction, potential assassination, etcetera. Also, remember how the princesses responded to Finn's request for a lock of their hair in "To Cut a Woman's Hair"? Muscle Princess, Hotdog Princess, LSP, and the rest were all pretty aggressively possessive of his perceived affection.

**ThatRandomReview:** There are a lot of good fanfics out there about this pairing, so I consider that high praise. I hope you stay as entertained through the rest of the story.

**Asasin8444:** Glad you're enjoying the story! I think the writers neglected the flame shield thing for romantic purposes because they don't want to really close the door between Bonnibel and Finn. They were ready to use it to stop the Flame King's assassination, after all. It's all very selective.

**MonkeySkittles:** Glad you're enjoying the story! If you think the Princess chase is off to a good start, just wait until Flame Princess finds out what is going on.

**Allen: **Trust me, the chase is not over yet.

**Writer of Epics:** But the hard part is going to be to bring this all back around to fit back into the show's canon. If I can pull that off, I'll make David Copperfield look like a chump. ^_^

**Kira is watching you:** You're a smart one. ^_~

**ApolloX:** Believe me, I wish I could write this for a living. Unfortunately, no one pays fanfiction writers. I'm just glad to get a few minutes between school and work to write this chapter.

**Anonnnnc:** Believe me, I wish everyone was reading it. Of course, since I respond to all my reviewers, I'll have to make the chapters longer to compensate.

**Jake the Dog:** I was going to back out of the match, but then I remembered that I still have my Bacon Wizard card!

**Iron Reprieve:** I love LSP's dialect, it reminds me of playing chubby bunny in middle school.

**Lord Xantos A. Fowl:** Man, every chick loves the hero. ^_^

**Charlie'Rocker:** Welcome to the story, glad you're enjoying it. I've met a lot of fanfic writers who reply to their reviewers and it always felt so good to enter into am dialogue with someone you respect for their craft. I'm just trying to properly thank all the fans of my story, because I really appreciate their love, and I wouldn't still be writing this if it wasn't for them.

**Kody the Guard of Flames:** Considering the show was sold to target way young kids, I imagine they figured that the romance thing was an unnecessary plot element. But, as the audience for the show expands and encompasses older viewers, they need to reconsider these things and up the overall game. I'm so glad you're enjoying the story! ^_^

**Bdjpl97:** You bet I will check your story out! I wanted to keep the OCs down to a minimum, mostly because I am improvising so much of the show's foundation (character names, support characters, 90% of the gender reversed characters, etc). In the near future, I tend to do some more OC heavy stuff with the AT universe.

**Mrdirtguy3:** Thanks! ^_^

**Maned Wolf Goddess:** Thank you, I'm very proud of how well it seems to be going, and how much positive reader response it is getting. Also, love your pen name. Wolves are totally math.

**Jenaca:** Glad you're enjoying the story so far, I hope it keeps you entertained.

**This is awesome:** I am glad you love it. My reader's love is what fuels me to continue.

**The cool dude:** I am pleased by this. I hope you stay entertained through to the end.

**Bigredfox10:** Hold onto your fuzzy white hood, it's about to happen!

**Sunshine loving devil:** Glad to see you're still around! I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations.

**Subwoofer16x9:** I'm glad you're enjoying it. ^_^

**ThatRandomReview:** Either you reviewed twice, or someone else is being random. Either way, I'm just glad you're enjoying the ride. ^_^

**FlamePrincess4Evr:** I'm enjoying writing this story! All of the reviews and praise are fantastic.

** :** That's mighty high praise. I hope the story holds up to the end, I wouldn't want to disappoint anyone.

**Randomftw42:** Not just yet, I've gotten a lot of request for more Princess Vermillion content, so I'll add a chapter or two.

**Skelegirl:** I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I wanted to be as true to the characters personalities as I could.

**Hobosammich:** I'll finish the story out, no worries. I wouldn't want to leave the readers hanging. I've put all my other stories on hiatus until I finish this one.

**Mister L:** Not as soon as I'd like, but I am updating!

**Ze red spy:** So it's a little later than I wanted, but here's the update. I wanted to build up a little more to the climax of the story.

**The23thstudent:** Girls fighting over a boy is somewhat unorthodix, I admit. However, I am a huge fan of Tenchi Muyo, so I've seen it before and it doesn't weird me out so much.

**Graypdrink:** Finn/Fionna is a little too self-love for me to really get into, sort of like dating your clone. However, I do love them both equally, so Iwant to make sure they get a fair depiction.

**DeadlocktheHero: **I'm working on it, I swear to Glob!


	11. While Finn is Away: Sparks Fly

"Daddy, why is this happening?" Vermillion stood before her full length mirror, her attendants fawning over the beginnings of her evening gown. "The last thing I want right now is some stupid party where I have to perch in my lamp and be gawked at."

"Then it will please you to know that you will not be in your lamp during this event." King Volcanus paced around her room, his back to her as she was dressing. "Prince Cobalt asked specifically that you be present for his birthday."

"Prince Cobalt?" Vermillion clapped her hands, "I do love Cobey; it will be nice to see him."

"I had hoped you would feel this way."

"Princess, stop fidgeting!" One of the hand maidens, a magma creature, was pulling a set of corset strings tight around Vermillion's waist. "A proper lady must wear a corset, and your jiggling about isn't helping!"

"Jiggling?!" The princess' form degenerated into a furious tangle of flames as she whirled around to face the servant. "Are you saying I'm FAT?" Vermillion roared and blasted the hand maiden asunder, sending a litter of flambits scurrying across the floor.

The seamstress sighed and leaned past Vermillion to face the king, "I'm going to need another hand maiden. Maybe two."

The flame king chuckled and excused himself, closing the door behind him. Cobalt and Vermillion had been friends since they could barely walk, sitting together and having long discussions under the glow of the magma. If anyone could jostle her over this Prince Finn nonsense, it would be him.

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><p>The landscape lit by flaming glyphs that flickered against the dark sky, evening fell across the Flame Kingdom and the banquet was in full swing. Nobility from the Desert Kingdom mingled with the denizens of the Flame Kingdom, their crystal and metallic bodies glimmering in widely varied hues against the soft reds and oranges that radiated from the many sources of fire. King Volcanus bobbed through the crowd, shaking hands and greeting his guests, of whom he stood much taller than.<p>

"Volcanus!" The king was drawn by the shout, turning to face a tall, slender man dressed in colorful robes. Under the shadow of his turban, his aquamarine eyes glimmered brightly.

"Ferron, welcome my friend." The flame king crossed over and greeted the sheikh warmly, taking the desert king's sandy hand in his own. "I hope this is all to your approval?"

"It is most fantastic, my friend." He gestured to the boy at his side, "Don't you agree, Cobalt?"

The young prince was dressed like his father, in elegant robes and brilliant colors. There was much of his father in his young face; strong chin, broad nose, and eyes that showed deep intelligence and emotion. No one doubted that he had no shortage of female admirers. "Indeed, father." Prince Cobalt agreed, his blue colored skin and crystal hair gleaming in the firelight cast off by the flame king, "But I have not seen Princess Vermillion yet."

"She should be down any time now."

No sooner had the words left him, than the Chancellor called the room's attention. "Presenting, her royal highness, Princess Vermillion." The entirety of the room paused and turned, taking in the image of the Flame Kingdom's most infamous noble.

Her ruby colored hair was up, as it always was, vibrant and full of radiance. Her golden face glowed in the light of the magma veins, the ruby on her brow a gleaming accent. The outfit she wore was a cutting edge innovation; the bolero jacket was woven from asbestos and ceramic wool, accented by brass gears and a fumigator. The device on her back had several display gauges, showing the fumigator's fuel levels and thermal pressure, and from the pair of chimney pipes rising off it, sweet smelling smoke wafted down and hovered around her like a gauzy mantle. Under the coat she wore a corset top of ceramic wool, designed with a clockwork motif.

The gown that spilled down around her legs was copper and brass filigree, delicate metal foils and wire lacing over ceramic fibers, reaching down in the front to just touch the top of black iron shoes, while tapering lower toward the back and allowing an indulgent amount of sweep train to trail behind her. The design was perhaps, not the most practical, but with every light source glimmering off her and making the fabric tresses appear to be molten gold, no one would dare say that the whole of the ensemble was anything less than breath-taking.

As the realization that everyone was staring at her sank in, her face glowed with embarrassment. Then, her head exploded into a demonic flare as she screeched "STOP STARING AT ME!" Every pair of eyes in the room, save the two kings and Prince Cobalt, immediately spun around and pretended that she had never entered as if their lives depended on it. Regaining her composure, she sighed in annoyance, "So embarrassing." As she approached her father, her gaze settled on the blue-haired prince. "Oh my glob, Cobey?"

"Vera, wow." Prince Cobalt gave his friend a hug, "You look stunning. Absolutely. So, umm, you wanna dance or something?"

"Don't be silly," she punched him in the arm. "All of this is boring, let's go get some punch and go for a walk."

"As you wish." Prince Cobalt bowed slightly and followed Vermillion out of the main hall.

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><p><em><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>_ The plot thickens. I'm enjoying this story quite a bit. The closer it gets to the climax, the more I regret seeing the story come to an end.

I had intended to do this earlier, but I just finished it. There is a forum for this story; you can find the picture that inspired Vermillion's dress there, and if anyone wants to get a hold of me, feel free to get chatty. ^_^

**Hatsu Yukiya:** Good, I'm glad you're pleased. I'm looking forward to the clash of the suitors.

**Kendramccormick:** Well please d feel free to cruise the story to your heart's content, and I'll try to keep it golden through to the end. Vermillion is a red to reddish-orange color, and it means we can call her Vera for short. ^_^

**DubbleDuelSword:** The idea that I might have made your day better by updating this story, makes my day.

** :** I have arisen from the dead, as I derive sustenance from the praise of my readers.

**Chuvulam:** I'm glad you're happy, and I'm sorry I got you all kerfuffled.

**Lerans:** I was wishing I could make it longer as well. But trust me, Aaa will have a much bigger part to play in the sequel.

**TheJamjam:** Not as soon as I'd like; I have to squeeze my writing time in between work and school. But thanks for sticking with the story. ^_^

**Charlie'Rocker:** I was so happy when Flame Princess came around, finally able to put an end to Bubblegum's monopoly on Finn's heart.

**Bigredfox10: **So why should Finn have the monopoly on the love-(insert geometric shape).

**Kevflame:** Good, I'm always happy to see someone enjoying the story.

**The23thStudent:** I heart Fionna. She's super math.

**Vech2514:** Well congratulations, I wish I'd have known ahead of time. You'll make a wonderful reader-in-law, and I hope my story is always good to you. ^_^


	12. While Finn is Away: Cobalt Burns Green

As Princess Vermillion and Prince Cobalt slipped out into the Obsidian Gardens, a warm stillness eclipsed them. The flame kingdom was lit in a perpetual sunset by the light that radiated from the numerous magma flows crisscrossing the landscape, the ruddy radiance appearing to ripple in the nigh invisible currents of super-heated air. Combined with the flaming sigils that hung in the sky like stars, the myriad of hues danced across the gold and copper surfaces on Vermillion's dress, making the princess appear as if the garment were made of the very sun itself.

"My glob, you're radiant." Cobalt said breathlessly.

Flame Princess laughed the compliment off and playfully slugged him in the arm, "You're so ridiculous, Cobey." She chuckled and strolled through the garden's expanse of intricate obsidian spires; named for the many exotic spires of volcanic glass that dominated the grounds around the castle, the Obsidian Gardens were a sight of beauty. The polished black surfaces of each spire reflected the radiant visage of the Flame Princess as she walked along, idly tracing her fingers across the glass surfaces. "I remember when you told me about how you loved playing here, when we were small; I always wanted to see them for myself, they sounded so beautiful."

"There's a lot of beautiful things in the garden today." He said as he walked after her, hands clasped pensively behind him.

Vermillion snorted again, "Oh Cobey, what's with you today? You're positively ridiculous."

"Love makes a person do ridiculous things. It makes him unable to think of anything without keeping that special someone in his heart every single day." Prince Cobalt approached her deliberately, pulling a wrapped bundle from his pocket.

Vermillion's pulse quickened, "Cobey, what's this about?"

"Princess Vermillion," the earth prince began, "I have known you the entirety of my life. You are my oldest and most trusted friend, and as I approach the next stage of my life, I can think of no one I could want to share it with more." He unwrapped the cloth, exposing the item to the warm glow emanating from the princess; the bracelet was composed of many different metals, intricately braided together into a claddagh, a flame opal clutched in the hands.

"Oh my glob . . ." Vermillion's flame flickered as she stammered, "Cobey, that's . . . that's a tithing bracelet."

"Princess Vermillion, Daughter of Volcanus the Flame King, I want you to be my betrothed." Prince Cobalt knelt before her, "In a few years time, I will come of age and be given a house of my own, and I want you to share it with me, as my queen. And when you ascend to the throne of the Flame Kingdom, I wish to rule beside you as your king."

Observing from the shadows of a nearby archway, Volcanus and Ferron pumped their fists excitedly.

"Oh Cobey . . ." Vermillion frowned and bowed her head, "You're sweet, but . . . I can't."

"What?" The earth prince said in sad disbelief.

"WHAT?" Volcanus shouted in shock. Ferron quickly grabbed his friend and dragged him back into the archway and out of sight, but not before the pair was clearly seen by their mortified offspring.

The prince and princess watched their fathers with no small degree of embarrassment; Cobalt rose to his feet, the bracelet still held toward Vermillion. "Vera . . . can I ask why? Is there someone else?" An unexpected spike of jealousy surged in his chest. The flame princess looked away, blushing, which only served to make the jealous ache worse. "Who is this . . . interloper? What is his name?"

"Prince Finn!" All heads turned toward the figure of the flame guardsmen as he bolted through the obsidian gardens, streaking towards the main hall's archway. "My flame king, Prince Finn has forced his way through the castle gates and makes path toward the castle!"

"What?!" Volcanus emerged from the archway, his fiery visage a mask of rage. "How far away is he?"

There was a series of loud booms, like someone pounding on the massive iron doors of the castle's inner gates. Then, his body streaking over the wall like a golden-furred comet, Jake arced over the barricade and landed in the courtyard, retracing his legs only after Finn dismounted. Brandishing the Stones of Infinis, a blue light eclipsed him, and he screamed at the top of his lungs. "Vermillion!"

As the word touched her ears, the air around the princess exploded into a golden corona-like radiance that lit her up like the sun. Just the sound of him saying her name was the most wonderful thing she'd ever heard. "Finn!" She broke into a run toward him.

Prince Cobalt watched the rapturous exchange pass between his Vera and this fleshy prince, and his hand drifted toward the hilt of his crystal sword. He had loved Vera since they were children, and whoever this blue-toned usurper was, he was unworthy of such affection from the princess, which came so easily to him that it made a simple fact clear. Prince Finn would have to die.

As the flame princess approached Finn, she struggled to get herself composed; it wouldn't do to run up and throw herself on him like some sort of over eager puppy, especially since she couldn't even be with him anyway. She needed to be austere. "Finn, what are you doing here? I told you, we ca-"

"OHMYGLOBPRINCESSIFOUNDTHISMA GICSTONETHATWILLMAKEMEIMMUNE TOFIRESOWECANBETOGETHER!" Finn threw himself at the princess and hugged her fiercely.

"What?" Vermillion pushed him off her, confused. "You're making 'Ice King' level sense, Finn, stop rambling. And watch where you're putting your face, you don't want to get burned again, do you?"

Finn said nothing; he simply reached out and took her hand, twining his fingers in hers.

Vermillion's eyes widened. There was no burn, no tears. "Finn?"

He placed the second Stone of Infinis in her hand, watching as the carnelian magic intertwined with her golden light, intensifying the colors of her blazing mantle to even richer tones.

"Finn, what are you doing?" Her lip trembled as he reached out, cupping her cheek in his hand.

"Defying nature." Finn brought them both together and pressed his mouth to hers in a kiss.

Time stood still.

Then, ignition; a deafening roar as the world around them erupted in a pillar of flame that burned red, then orange, then blue, and finally white. The ivory tower rose into the sky in a pillar of radiance so bright that it forced Bayble Cuber to avert his eyes, and for an instant, could be seen in the shrine to the King of Mars.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>_ Fun chemistry fact, cobalt powder will turn flame green if you burn it. I've been agonizing over the kiss since this story began; how to make it amazing, without becoming ridiculous. Obviously I went for the ridiculous. But that's just the kind of goodness we deliver!

**Rainbow dash:** No need to sneak into my tree house, I have the chapter you've been seeking.

**ShikaruSan:** I'm glad you've been enjoying the story! Writing Choose Goose was hard, but he seemed as if he had an integral part to be played. And as I keep saying, the most important part of fan fiction (to me) is being true to the character's personalities.

**Adventure time 1:** Ask and you shall receive. ^_^

**CryoftheCat:** Thank you for the high praise. And yes, I wanted everyone to be comforted and certain that the story will be finished. Speaking of, boys and girls, **only one more chapter to go.**

**Storylover Vodhr- Dux Ducis:** So it's a little late . . .

**Nikolai the Beast:** To each their own. But I would debate the Link issue. In Twilight Princess, he gives up the sword and tunic and goes back to be Saria's farm boy. In Link to the Past, she's his sister. The only game I can ever remember there being some sort of "thing" between them was in the second game, wherein there was an implied kiss behind the curtain at the end.

** Mrnin10do:** Here ya go!

**Sunshine loving devil:** Good to see you back, hope the forced separation wasn't too severe. Mine usually takes the form of either work or school.

**Bigredfox10:** Buckle in, the next chapter is going to be a roller coaster. ^_^

**The23thStudent:** Oh no, this is far from over, Finn and Jake just had a good lead on them. The last 3 chapters have been an explanation of what Flame Princess was going while Finn and Jake were questing. Hence the title "While Finn is Away".

**Kira is Watching You:** I know they're too short for you, but think of it like a box of gourmet chocolates. If they were huge, it would take much longer between morsels, and you'd get sick of them if you ate too fast.

**StrikerXE:** High praise, thanks much! I think Solana is a pretty tight name as well. ^_^

**TheJamJam: **All good things . . . OH! Maybe someone will write fanfiction about my fanfiction! That would be the coolest thing EVAR!


	13. There was a Firefight

The radiance lasted for an eternity, the two lovers suspended in that moment of contact; he had quested for her, crossed worlds for her, waged war against friend and made ally of enemy, all for this moment. The touch of her lips burned in ecstasy, the warmth of her embrace was intoxicating.

And then it was gone.

A cool hand grabbed a handful of Finn's collar and jerked backward, tearing the hero out of the pillar of whiteness and casting him onto the hot rocky earth. The human boy hit the ground with a thud and rolled poorly, caught completely off guard by the sudden attack. "Stand and face me, varlet, I demand satisfaction!" Prince Cobalt barked the words fiercely, green embers trailing off his arm, the sleeve torched away by reaching into the fiery pillar.

Likewise, the sudden disconnection left Vermillion confused. She came out of the kiss as if she had been asleep, blinking slowly as the brilliant light was suddenly extinguished. "Wha . . . Finn?"

"That's your name, is it? Finn?" Prince Cobalt drew his sword with a furious slash, "Then draw your sword, Finn, because I challenge you to a duel!"

"Oh-ho!" Volcanus and Ferron emerged to better view the spectacle.

"WHAT?" Vermillion shook her head, "Cobey? Finn? What's going on?"

"Duel me?" Finn shook his head, "I don't want to fight you! Dude, I don't even know you!"

"Don't want to fight, eh?" Cobalt's brow furrowed, "Then stay still, and I will make this quick!"

"Oh my GLOB!" Finn rolled out of the way, the blade barely missing him as it furrowed the black earth where the human had been an instant before. "Whoa, let's talk about this!"

"I have no need for words, coward," Cobalt followed after, his crystal sword slicing the air, "My sword has all the discourse I care to share with the likes of you!"

"Finn!" Jake hurled the demon blood sword to his brother, "Stop messing around and kick this loser's butt!" Finn reached for the sword, but Cobalt's blade struck it from the air, knocking it off course.

The red sword clattered to the ground at Vermillion's feet. "Cobey, stop this!" The princess shouted, the fiery edges of her form flaring outward, her figure almost beginning to distort as her anger surged.

"Look, man, I don't even know you!" Finn continued to evade, hurling his lean body to the side as Cobalt's swings grew closer.

"Regardless, you and I have issue!" The earth prince lunged, his blade sinking into the ground as Finn evaded. The human boy yelped as the blade nicked him, slashing through his blue t-shirt. "You have stolen the object of my affection, you heart wrecking hooligan!"

"Oh that is it!" Finn kicked the sword from Cobalt's hand, "I have had enough of this dumb butlery." He rolled and dove past the prince, sweeping the crystal sword up from the ground as he turned towards the prince. "You want a sword fight, fancy pants? Let's see how you like being the unarmed guy!"

"Finn, don't hurt him!" Flame Princess cried out as he raced in, the blade swinging a deadly arc toward Cobalt. The human boy turned the blade at her cries, the weapon missing his target.

"What?" Finn turned toward her, "Vera, he's trying to kill me!"

"I know, but please, he's my dearest friend!"

Finn sighed heavily, "Okay, but only because it's you." He tossed the sword aside, "Okay, look Prince . . . whatever your name is, I don't want to fight you."

"Coward!" Cobalt pounced on Finn, "I don't need a sword to beat you!"

"Cobey, stop fighting him this instant!"

Finn rolled with him, using his legs to launch the prince off of him. Cobalt skidded face first through the sooty earth, coming up with his blue-hued skin stained brown and grey. "Seriously, what the nuts is your deal?"

Prince Cobalt screamed wordlessly and charged Finn, drawing a dagger off his belt. Just as Finn was beginning to turn and go for the discarded crystal sword, there was a deafening impact as a giant flaming fist slammed down on top of the berserked earth prince. There was a 'whoosh' of fire from beneath it, and a cluster of small green flambits crawled out, scampering off in different directions. "STOP FIGHTING!" Vermillion shrieked, her voice a distorted howl.

"Whoa, that was a close wha . . .HUH?!." As Finn turned, his words gave away to a surprised yelp. The flame princess was a massive pillar-like monster of flame, with many serpentine arms flailing about around her. Her crimson hair writhed about her head like a sea of blazing tentacles, and her gentle face was a nightmarish expression carved into the sea of flames that she had become. "What's . . . happening to me . . .?"

"I don't know," Finn walked forward, gesturing with his hands, "Just try and calm down."

"I'm trying!"

As Finn stooped to pick up his sword, there was a massive booming noise at the main gates. Then, with a triumphant cry, a pair of muscular green hands tore the massive iron barricade off its hinges. "Oh no, not them!" Finn sheathed his sword, watching the archway with certain dread.

The pathway clear, the congregation of Ooo's royalties emerged, their pretty faces turned into dark masks of war. Some of them carried weapons, others were followed by knights or soldiers, and others still had primed their spells and incantations. "FLAME PRINCESS!" Muscle Princess bellowed as she led the horde of would-be brides into the courtyard, "We have come . . . to . . ."

The princesses stared blankly at Finn, then at the fiery monster behind him, then at Jake, who was sitting off to the side noodling with his cell phone. Finn looked over at his brother for the first time since their arrival, "Jake, what are you doing?"

"Texting Lady," he replied plaintively, "I'm telling her about how all the princesses just showed up and your girlfriend is a twenty foot tall fire monster."

"Girlfriend?!" The princess congregation shrieked out in surprise. Could the massive beast behind Finn be the woman who threatened to snatch him away?

"Y-yeah," the flame monster stammered, "What of it?" Finn looked over his shoulder at her and smiled. She flashed a slight one of her own, the red in her face deepening slightly.

The tension snapped, audibly. "GET HER!" The horde descended upon the flame princess, weapons, warriors, and spells flying as Armageddon erupted.

"Attack!"

"Move forward, my hot dog knights!"

"LET'S LUMPIN DO THAHS!"

"DeStRoY hEr, DeStRoY hEr!"

"Excelsior!"

"Finn will be mine!"

"BRING THE PAIN!"

"Wait, stop!" Finn struggled to stop the royalty as they surged forward, their respective forces clashing with the greatly distended figure of the flame princess.

"Stop it!" Vermillion shielded her face with one hand as she lashed out with the other, the massive wave of flame scattering hotdog knights like leaves in a hard breeze. Wave after wave of attacks from the army of enraged nobles surged upon the monstrous conflagration that the flame princess had become, but they were completely ineffective. "STOP FIGHTING ME!" Her voice deepened into an even more monstrous keen as she continued to grow, her expanding form beginning to encompass the glittering spires of the Obsidian Gardens.

Looking around desperately in the melee, Finn spotted Bonnibel and Marceline; the pair stood in the back ranks of the battle, observing Princess Vermillion's devolution with a sort of morbid fascination. "Marcie, Peebles!" He ran to them, his face wet with manic perspiration. "You have to help her, what's happening?"

Marceline couldn't speak as she met his gaze, the raw emotional turmoil inside of them threatening to overwhelm them both. She'd seen him in his best and his worst, but the anguish he felt in that moment, seeing the flame princess losing control, was the most raw she'd ever seen in his young face. It was a feeling she new all too well.

Bonnibel, however, seemed unmoved by the display. Indeed, she regarded the Flame Princess with a draconian indifference, as if she drew some sort of vindication from seeing the lovers so close, but so far from each other. "I warned them that this would happen if she left her lamp."

"What?" Finn paled, "Warned them about what?"

"The fire people," Bubblegun said with a slight sneer, "They're unstable. Their elemental matrix isn't able to tolerate emotions on the 'good' side of the alignment spectrum." Even watching the display, how she could lie like that, to Finn, was something Marceline could not fathom. "It causes them to intensify their thermal signature, growing in size and temperature, until they supernova." Finn turned to look back at his beloved Vera, who was nearly thirty feet in height and glowing more intensely than before, missing the wicked smile that curled the corners of Bonnibel's mouth. "At her current rate, I imagine she'll be bigger than the Candy Palace in about fifteen minutes; after that she'll reach critical mass, igniting all the oxygen in our atmosphere and engulfing Ooo in a massive fireball that will exterminate every living thing. Unless, of course, you can find a way to extinguish some of her thermal mass."

Finn looked down at the blue stone of Infinis he wore around his neck, then to the red stone that had sunk somewhere into her body. His face fell. "I understand; get everyone clear, I'll take care of this."

"Finn, wait!" Marceline tried to approach him, but he was already running into the melee. "How could you do that to him?" Marceline turned on Bonnibel, "How can it be so easy for you to lie to him like that, to destroy something that makes him so happy?"

"Finn was mine first," Bubblegum said plainly, "He has an obligation to the Candy Kingdom. I allow his heroism to benefit the rest of Ooo so long as it does not conflict with my own interests, but I won't allow his destiny to be clouded or his loyalties to be swayed; not by you, Marceline, and especially not by some elemental." She composed herself and it was as if she were a different person; the manipulative, deceitful noble was gone, replaced by the charming princess of the Candy Kingdom. "Everyone, we need to evacuate!" She started flagging the other nobles back toward the border of the flame kingdom. Marceline looked after the shrinking figure of the hero boy, then turned and followed the other nobles out of the castle's gates.

* * *

><p>"FINN!" The flame princess was shouting his name, looking wildly around as she continued to expand, "Where are you, Finn?"<p>

"I'm here!" Vera looked down, seeing the ant-like figure at the base of her form, "I'm right here, Vera."

"Finn!" She reached down and gingerly grabbed him, bringing Finn up to her face. "Oh my glob, Finn, what's happening to me?!"

"It's okay," Finn reached out and laid a hand on her face, "I'm right here and we're going to be okay."

She closed her eyes and nuzzled her cheek against his tiny hand, "I'm so scared." Her voice was almost small.

Finn held back his tears, "Just remember how much I love you."

"I love you too, Finn."

The hero boy steeled his resolve and leaned forward, teetering off the side of her hand and plunging head first into the writhing nexus of flames that his beloved had become. Shielded by the gem of Infinis, the flames gently caressed him as he passed through, streaking toward the magic gem at Vermillion's core. He took his gem and held it aloft, screaming wordlessly, and as her gem rushed up to meet him, he swung down. The stones of fire and water touched, their magics coming together for an instant, before the two stones exploded with a sun-like intensity that forced him to shield his eyes.

* * *

><p>At the border of the flame kingdom, the gathering of princesses watched as a great flash of red and blue light overwhelmed the southern sky for an instant, before vanishing; seconds after, a deafening boom echoed across the continent, audible for miles. They immediately began to murmur amidst themselves, wondering what it could be, until Bubblegum clapped her hands and called them to attention. "That can only mean that Finn has conquered the day and defeated the beast." A cacophony of cheers erupted from the nobles, "Now, return to your kingdoms. There will be time to celebrate the hero's return soon enough."<p>

The crowd began to disperse, the various nobles eager to return to their kingdoms and prepare for the next visit from the flaxen-haired hero of Ooo. Eventually it was only Marceline who remained, staring at Bubblegum with an expression of disgust on her face. "I can't believe you allowed this, ENGINEERED this. What happened to you, Bonnibel?"

Bubblegum drew her cotton candy stole around her shoulders, "I remember the first time that Finn saved me from the Ice King. I realized at that moment that Finn could never truly belong to anyone, but rather, he belonged to all of Ooo. I cannot let our hero be distracted from his path. We are all bound by our destines."

"And this has nothing to do with the fact that the Fire Count seduced Queen Cotton Candy out from under your grandfather's nose."

"It's irrelevant!" Bubblegun screeched at her in a moment of lost composure. She took a second to regain her demure. "That my grandmother decided to forsake her vows to the Candy Kingdom and indulge herself in a scandalous affair that plunged our kingdoms into civil war, while disgusting and selfish, is of no importance anymore; that grudge died with my father."

"You're right, Princess," Marceline drew her coat up around herself, "We are bound by our destinies. We are also shaped by the sins of our fathers." Without another word, the vampire queen was simply gone.

When Princess Vermillion awoke, she was tucked into asbestos covers and surrounded by scented candles. Finn was nearby, his clothes singed badly, his face soot-stained. "Finn?"

He lifted his head wearily, "I'm here, Vera."

She rose and quickly moved to his side, "What happened?"

"After the explosion, Jake got us out of the flame kingdom. We're in a ruin on the western shore, where Jake and I go to train."

"Did I do this?" She stared in mortified horror at the burns he'd suffered.

"No, it's my fault." He gently touched her hand, "I . . . had to destroy the stones of Infinis." Tears ran down his cheeks, "The blue stone was stopping you from extinguishing the flames, forcing you to keep growing until you would have destroyed the world. I had to smash it, with my stone."

"I . . . see." Vera sat down beside him, looking dejectedly at her lap. "Where's Jake?"

"He's gone to the tree house to get the jar of healing tears." He reached into his singed backpack, withdrawing two scrolls. "Princess, there's something I wanted to ask you."

"What is it?" She looked at him.

"I have these scrolls of fire shield and ice shield. They'd stop fire or water attacks from hurting us for a few hours, but they're temporary." He cleared his throat as he turned to look at her more directly, taking her hand in his; she was warm, comforting. "There's a couple's movie night tomorrow night. Do you . . . want to go with me?"

"Even with everything that's happened?" She looked at him with surprise, "I almost destroyed the world!"

"So? Will you defy nature with me?"

A slow, warm smile curled her lips, "Yes, I'd love to."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>_ Even in the depths of adversity, their love perseveres. ;^_^;

And so, the story comes to its end. I've enjoyed it very much, and I have especially enjoyed all the love from the fans. I can honestly say that the whole reason this story is concluding now is because so many people showed such an avid interest. I actually put every other writing project on hiatus, just so I could make this story my whole focus (aside from work, school, and family). So in a way I am glad to be done, because now I can work on other stories, but at the same time I am sad to be done, because this story is such a huge fan favorite.

So now, I guess, it's time to go work on all my other stories, which are mostly unknown to the people on this site.

But do keep your ear to the ground. The Jumper Chronicles is going to crash into the lands of Ooo and Aaa in the near future, so you'll be seeing more of Finn, Fiona, Jake, Cake, Princess Vermillion, Bubblegum, Marceline, and everyone else. I will be continuing this universe in that regard, and maybe even further, given the HUGE fan response to this arc.

So once again, thank you all so very much for your high praises. I hope to see more of you all in the near future.

**Sunshine loving devil:** Here you go. Thanks so much for staying tuned through the whole ordeal.

**Killer-bear-hoffman:** There are a few moments in the story where I wanted to mess with people's heart guts. I had a hard time with some parts.

**TheWarriorofOOO:** To each their own, I suppose. I like FP and Finn as a pair, because honestly, I have a hard time envisioning any of the others as a real pairing. PB is much too hung up on his youngness that I can't see him reaching her age without growing bitter over her rejection. Marcie is too angsty, and she's gonna be a teenager forever, Marcie's really angsty and has major anti-everybody issues. And the majority of the other princes are . . . well, either foodstuffs or inanimate objects. Once they formally introduce the more humanoid princesses, then we'll talk.

**Steelghozt:** This clash kind of identifies the difference between Marcie's and Bonnie's affection toward Finn.

**Fujin of shadows:** Thanks. ^_^ I was really obsessed with how to work it all out.

**Rainbow dash:** I assumed you didn't, but it's always fun to joke. And yes, MASSIVE drama bomb.

**Bigredfox10:** I hope the climax of the story is as good as you hoped.

**Lerans:** My goal was to address a huge event, establish a bond about their feelings, and then return it to as close to canon as I could manage.

**Adventure time lovr:** Thank you much for the praise, and the free publicity. My goal was to make this as much like a real episode (or series of episodes) as I could, in that it would be as infinitely relatable to young and old fans.

** :** I hope the climax is as epic as I intended. I want to blow the dial off the amp.

**SirDippingSauce:** Cobalt's only flaw was assuming that because she grew up in a lamp, she could see no one but him. Maybe in the sequel, I should write him a nice water girlfriend or something.

**CryoftheCat:** One epic ending, as promised.

**Mrnin10do:** I had to make it a short fight, mostly because the fight wasn't supposed to be the focus. The majority of the princesses are just background fodder.

**Kendramccormick:** Thank you, I wanted the final paragraph to be really powerful. They've struggled, and I wanted their vindication to be as great as their trials.

**Storylover Vodhr- Dux Ducis:** Glad you approved. ^_^

**StrikerXE:** I love making the chapters fast paced. It makes it all feel like an actual episode to me.

**Harvest-Mooniac:** You're half right. The chromatic diagram you refer to is correct, as long as the flame burns off of a solid matter fuel. When consuming a vaporous fuel, the color scheme starts with red as the coolest and gets hotter through orange, yellow, blue, and white as the hottest. This is because of the presence of carbon found in fuel and the quantity of it remaining post ignition. Hotter gaseous temperatures vaporize matter more completely, resulting in a cleaner light.

I assumed that the flame people consumed gaseous fuels as a primary, and solid fuel as a secondary. Sort of how they always seem to burn, but they can consume coal or other fuel sources if they desire (such as how Flambo pops coal like candy in the earlier chapters).

**The23thStudent:** A duel and an escape all in one. ^_^

** :** The pillar of light is a manifestation of how the Flame Princess burns brighter the more emotionally intense she becomes. You notice in the cartoon how she always glows brighter when Finn is sweet to her? I figured that you really couldn't get much more intense than a kiss, right? At least, not in my story, I'm not turning this into a lemon. ^_^

**Kody the Guard of Flames: **Never. Finn and Vermillion forever.


End file.
